Two Hearts, One Wish
by bestangelbaby
Summary: When two people from different worlds make the same wish, they are brought together by forces and reasons unknown to them. Watch and see how the addition of this new person will affect Earthland and the lives of the people connected. No pairings as of yet, may change in the future. Will be rated M for language and scenarios in the future.
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer:

I do not own any of the characters or plot ideas from Fairy Tail. It is owned by Mashima Hiro.

* * *

Sitting on a high branch in a forest, a young man looks longingly up to the stars… silently he makes a wish to the heavens above. Smiling softly… he shuts his eyes and slowly goes to sleep… unaware of the shooting stars that leave a blazing trail across the sky.

At the same time, in another place far away… a woman looks up at the velvety night sky while sitting on a back porch swing. Unbeknownst to her, she makes the same wish as the man… before she too soon falls asleep. A warm breeze picks up and rocks the swing with a gentle sway… shooting stars appear overhead to cover the clear sky.

A third place that is separate, but connected to the worlds the man and woman live in, a large figure watches the night sky. From two different directions, shooting stars streak through the air simultaneously. Carrying with them are the voices of the man and the woman as they made their wish. After hearing both of their hearts' desire, the large figure starts to smile. Reaching out in the direction of the stars that carried the woman's wish, the figure plucks something unseen out of the air. Then turning to the direction the other set of stars came from, the figure lets go of whatever was plucked out of the air. Lowering the arm, the smile grows before the figure speaks.

"Now the rest is up to you two to make your wish come true…." The large figure walks away smiling to itself as the voices continue to echo throughout the air in a soft whisper….

"_I wish to find someone who can help make me stronger…_

…_who can help me protect the ones that I love and cherish."_

* * *

"Natsu! Where are you?" A feminine voice calls out.

"Over here, Lucy!" replies a young man with pink, spiky hair and wearing a white-scaled scarf that is wrapped around his neck. He is standing outside of an immense wooden wall while sniffing the air. Nearby, a young blonde girl appears out of the village that is surrounded by the wall.

"What are you doing, Natsu? We are about to leave." she says in an annoyed tone.

"Something isn't right. There is a weird smell in the air…. Like something doesn't belong." states Natsu seriously.

"Eh!? Oh no! Don't tell me it's something to do with that demon Deliora again!" Lucy shouts out suddenly, attracting the attention of their other teammates and some of the villagers.

"What's going on? What's this about Deliora?" gruffly demands a young scarlet-haired woman.

Shaking his head in denial, Natsu replies between sniffs. "No, it isn't Deliora, but it doesn't smell natural either… If it's another demon, it isn't one that lives here. The smell is just too different… Too unnatural." The blonde girl holds her hands in front of her busty chest and shivers in fear.

A blue-furred cat with wings hovers over by Lucy and states simply, "It's probably just Lucy. She is smelly." He then puts a paw over his mouth to unsuccessfully stifle a laugh.

Enraged, the blonde girl named Lucy yells while stomping, "I don't stink, you crappy cat!"

Ignoring this, a young man with messy black hair asks with a grim voice, "What if it has something to do with Deliora? Maybe we should check it out to be on the safe side for the villagers' sake?"

"Hmm." hums the red-headed woman as she crosses her arms in annoyance. One of the villagers who resembles a tall green lizard man approaches the group using a spear as a walking stick.

"If you would help us check this out before you leave, we would be eternally grateful. Well, its not like we aren't already, but this would be tremendously helpful." The older woman closes her eyes for a moment to seriously consider the request before snapping her eyes open.

"Ok, we will check this out. Natsu, can you pinpoint where the smell is coming from?" she asks commandingly.

Pointing towards the forest, he replies, "It seems to be coming from that direction, but it seems fairly dispersed like it has some time to spread out. I should be able to find it when we get closer, but its hard to pinpoint from this distance."

The lizard-man villager takes a step forward and says, "Some of us can go scouting out in that direction to see if we can find anything while you follow the scent." The older woman replies with a nod while humming in approval.

"Let's move out and stay in contact, we don't want anyone to get separated before we know what we are facing." She says in a militant voice before running in the direction Natsu pointed to. The pink-haired man quickly takes the lead and starts tracking down the scent. Several of the villagers, who all look like different types of demons, spread their wings and follows after the group. After a handful of minutes, Natsu suddenly stops and takes a long sniff in the air.

"We're here. Whatever it is, it has to be around here." He rubs his nose hard. "I smell human as well, but whatever this smell is, it's really irritating my nose." He crinkles up his face in distaste as he keeps rubbing at his sensitive nose. He then turns to the older woman with a serious look. "What do you want us to do, Erza?"

"Spread out. Stay in sight of each other. Be on guard, and let out a shout if you find anything suspicious." she says before walking forward with confidence. The rest of the group follows her instructions and starts to comb the woods.

"We'll start searching around from the air." calls out one of villagers, the canopy being too thick to tell who shouted. A few minutes of searching later, Lucy slips on some moss on top of a large rock and falls before letting out a large yelp as she lands.

"Luce, you ok?" calls out Natsu as he heads over to check on his friend.

"Nothing damaged but my pride." says Lucy with a shaky laugh. "At least I landed on something soft." She looks down and gives out a squawk in surprise. The soft thing she landed on turns out of be a rather plump woman with brown hair who appears to be unconscious and in a pair of thick, grey cloth pants, odd red socks, and what looks to be a light green nightgown. Natsu vaults over the rock and lands on the other side of the woman while quickly followed by the cat, Erza, and the man with black hair. Lucy quickly gets off the woman and joins her friends.

They inspect her closely as Natsu squats down and starts to sniff near her head. "That's her! She's the one who smells weird. She does smell human as well, but it's drowned out by this irritating stuff, like she got dumped in something… But its getting weaker. Very weird..." While explaining this, he doesn't notice the woman's eyes start to open.

* * *

I start to wake up, feeling sluggish and disoriented. The first thing I realize is that my stomach hurts, a lot. _Damn, what the hell did I eat to cause this? _The next thing I notice is that there is an unfamiliar voice right by my ear. I open my eyes to see a tuft of pink hair in front of me, soon followed by a face. I gasp in surprise and try to back away, only to find that I'm laying on my back next to something hard. The face, which I realize is male, quickly backs enough distance away for me to sit up. Behind him are two girls and one other guy. Breathing hard, I look around quickly to assess my situation.

_ What the hell is going on? Why am I in these woods, and who the hell are these people? _I voice out my thoughts and they look at me really confused. "Who are you? Where the hell am I?!" I ask again, now starting to panic and shout. One of the girls, a blonde, comes forward and makes 'calm down' motions with her hands while spouting out some gibberish. My breathing starts to calm down since these people aren't making any threatening moves towards me, yet. I push myself up onto my feet unsteadily, eyeing the four people in front of me.

I hear them speak to each other in that weird language. _I don't recognize that language. Some of the words seem familiar though. Wait, watashi? That's Japanese! But the rest of that doesn't sound Japanese. Hold on, Mr. Grumpy-face there just said cool in English. What is going on here? _I see that the pink-haired male is staying quiet and just stares at me. It gives me a bit of an uneasy feeling. But nothing in my 27 years of life would've ever prepared me for what I saw next. A blue cat with wings suddenly appears to my left, causing my eyes to pop out. I shriek out in surprise and disbelief. Twisting to face it, I stagger back to put distance between it and me. I see it put a paw over its mouth and it _laughed!? _

_ This cat is flying and laughing? Where the hell am I?! In OZ? Or maybe Wonderland? It sure the hell isn't my world… _Feeling cornered by the rocks around me and the unknown situation, I start breathing heavily in panic. The four people approach me slowly. I scramble backwards trying to climb over the rocks while not taking my eyes off them. They try to calm me down, or so it seems from their actions and the tone of their voices. My hands land on a stick and I grip it, in case I might need it. Starting to get over my flying cat shock, their smiles slowly start to put me at ease again. Without a bit of warning, a shape blurs down from the canopy quickly followed by a few more. I don't know how many… All I can tell is that the other people are unaware of them.

_ What are those?…._ I gasp in astonishment. _Monsters? Demons!? No fucking way! They are coming this way! Holy shit! And those people don't know that they are right behind them. I gotta do something! _Still holding the stick, I push the four in front of me out of the way and let out a war cry to attack the demons. I see that the lizard man thing in front has a spear in his hands. _Oh fuck, this won't end well._ The demons look extremely surprised at my sudden attack and I was able to hit the one in front across the knuckles which causes it to let go of the spear.

Unfortunately, my stick breaks after one hit. Now I'm left with just a stub. I motion for the other people to get away while I back up, hoping to find another weapon. To my utter surprise, I feel hands on my arms, restraining me. I turn to look to see the four people I tried to protect are now holding me still. _The hell! Are they with the demons?! FUCK!_

I struggle trying to get free while shouting in fear, "Let me go, you bastards! Let me go!" I see the demon that I hit walking up to me and I increase my struggles. I'm making the people on my arms stumble around, but damn they got a good grip on me. I can't seem to get free. Next thing I know, there is pain at the back of my neck and blackness overcomes me.

* * *

"What the hell was that all about!" shouts out Natsu in anger as he and the others gently lay the woman down on the ground. Lucy puts a hand on his shoulder in an attempt to calm him down.

"I don't know exactly what's going on, but she was scared. Even when she attacked the villagers, she looked scared." said the black-haired guy.

"How could you tell, Gray?" asked Lucy while Natsu just huffed in frustration. Erza answered for Gray.

"Her eyes, she had that look to them as she pushed us out of the way. But she was brave though. I guess she thought that the villagers were bad and tried to protect us by attacking." she looked down at the sleeping woman.

"She can't be that brave. She was scared of me as well!" cried out the blue flying cat in a happy manner.

"It could be she never saw a flying blue cat before." countered Gray.

Erza walks over to the villager who was attacked. "Are you ok?"

He nods before looking down at the strange woman. "Yea, I'll be fine. Heh, didn't expect to get attacked like that. She gave me a pretty good wallop with that stick. Stronger than she looks, that one." he ends with a slight chuckle.

"I wonder what she was saying, I don't know that language she was using." said Lucy thoughtfully.

"Che, whatever she said, it pissed me off." says Natsu in an annoyed manner.

"Yea, she was probably calling you an idiot." replies Gray mockingly.

"What was that frost-brain?!" yelled Natsu.

"You heard me charcoal-breath!" taunted Gray.

"Boys." said Erza in a stern manner. They both shut up quickly and Lucy just sighed at their antics. "Well, whoever she is or wherever she came from, I think it would be best if we take her back to the village. I couldn't detect any magical presence from her, so I believe her to be a non-mage." She looks over to the villagers who are now gathered around the group. "That is if you're ok with this action. I, of course, don't want to make you and the rest of the village uncomfortable."

The villagers all look towards each other, some nodding, others shaking their heads. "Maybe we should let her go with you guys. If she wakes up in our village, she might attack us with more than just a stick." the green lizard man says calmly. Erza nods at their decision and turns to face her friends.

"Ok you three, pick her up and carry her. Until we can figure out what to do with her, she will be coming with us." states Erza calmly.

"What!? Why do we have to carry her!" yells out Natsu in anger. Erza gives him a frightening glare which causes the younger trio to huddle together in fear.

"Do I have to remind you _why?_" she asks coldly.

In unison, they quickly reply, "No! We'll carry her!" Satisfied, the scarlet-haired woman nods and turns before walking back to the village. The villagers give the woman one last look before opening their wings to fly back to the village and report what happened.

Grumbling under their breath about how heavy the woman was, Lucy, Gray, and Natsu situate themselves around her to pick her up. Natsu grabs her by the legs with his back facing her. Lucy in the middle supporting her back while holding up her gown to keep it from dragging and ripping. Gray holding onto her under her armpits. As they move a few steps, something clatters to the ground. Curious, they stop to see that something fell out of the mystery woman's clothes. A small, thin, almost hand-sized object is laying on the ground with some odd looking strings attached to it. It's grey with some sort of bird symbol on it.

"Maybe she is a mage. That could be a guild symbol." says Lucy quietly.

"Get moving, we need to be getting back to the guild." Erza sharply calls out. The trio jumps in surprise, and Lucy quickly picks up the item and sticks it her pouch with her keys before they resume the trek back. Because of their burden, it took them close to an hour to get back to the village.

"Go and grab your stuff, its time to leave." Erza barks out as she goes to get her giant wagon of luggage. Setting the woman down just outside the village, the three just groan and rub their backs before heading to the huts that has their stuff. The chief walks up to Erza as the others are grabbing their things and goes to give her the reward.

"Wh-What?! You can't accept the reward…?" stutters out the chief in surprise when Erza refuses to take the money.

With a small happy smile Erza replies, "Yup. Your happiness is enough for us. We appreciate it."

Dumbfounded, the chief says, "Hoga… but…" before being cut off by Erza.

"As I told you last night, this request wasn't officially accepted by our guild. A couple of idiots just rushed into all of this." she tells him.

With a very pleased grin the chief says, "Hogah… but that still doesn't change the fact that we were saved. Will you accept this as a thank you gift to friends, instead of a reward to the guild.?"

Shaking her head with smile in place, she replies "It's hard to reject it if you put it that way."

Gray exclaims, "7 million jewels!"

"Whoa!" Natsu adds.

Ignoring the commentary behind her, she continues on, "But to accept that, would mean going against what our guild stands for. Although we will gratefully accept the additional award: the golden key."

The boys quickly shout, "We don't want that!"

Lucy shouts at the boys, "I want that!"

The chief's son steps up and asks, "Then at least let us take you to Harujion."

Erza says simply, "No need… We have our ship ready." The villagers all look to Erza in surprise. She just nods gently before turning to grab the handle of her luggage wagon. She gives her friends a questioning look to see if they were ready to leave. As Gray, Lucy, and Natsu all give a thumbs up, a groan could be heard behind them.

* * *

My head is in pain. I groan and I roll onto my side to rub my temples. _What a crazy ass nightmare. Demons, and flying blue cats. Never had that before. _As I start to sit up, I notice something. I'm on the ground. _The hell?_ I open my eyes and can't make out anything. _Damn watery eyes. Why do they always water up like this when I wake up? _Rubbing my eyes vigorously, my vision returns. I blink them a few more times to get rid of any leftover blurriness. Looking up and around I soon notice a huge wood wall with some tents inside. _It's a village… what is going on here?_

I see the group gathered in the center and I squint my eyes to make them out. _It's those people I saw in my dream! _Terrifying creatures are surrounding the people, and they are… talking? _Oh gods. It wasn't a dream…_ Panic sets in and a small cry of fear escapes unbidden from my mouth. I clamber to my feet as fast as I can to try to get away. A small wave of dizziness hits and I stumble some before I get my balance. Turning away, I hear a shout from behind me as I start entering the woods. I look back at that shout without stopping and I see the pink-haired male running after me. _Shit, he's fast! I gotta try to dodge. _I turn back to see where I'm putting my feet so I won't trip.

Way too soon for my liking, I hear his footfalls behind me. I dodge to my left while turning, so I can try going in a different direction after he misses. Or at least that was the plan. The plan did not include him catching me in a bear hug of a tackle which caused us both to fall and roll down an unseen hill. My dizziness increases until it gets to the point where all I could do was close my eyes and hold on to him. I pray that the rolling will stop soon. My head hits something just before we stop rolling and I am knocked silly. My grip lessens and my arms flop down to the ground.

Breathing heavily from the rush, the world and the sky just spin in a sickening way. I close my eyes in an attempt to shut out the world to wait for it to right itself. I don't know how long I was like that before I feel like I'm recovering. My breathing slows and weirdly enough I'm feeling calmer now. _Why was I riled up earlier? Ow, my head hurts. _I open my eyes, only to have to shut them again. _Why am I feeling dizzy? What happened? And why do I feel so warm?_

I shift my body a bit to get more comfortable while I try to figure out what's going on. A small groan near my ear causes me to stiffen. Movement is felt that I did not cause and it dawns on me that there is something laying on top of me. Soon as I realize this, my eyes shoot wide open causing me to hiss in pain while narrowing them. _Big mistake. Ow. The headache does not like sunlight. _I squint up into the sky and let my eyes get adjusted to the light. With the headache subsiding, it gets easier to reason out my situation.

First thing I figure out is that I am laying on my back on the ground, and some guy is laying on top of me. _Or at least I'm assuming it is a guy from how deep that groan was. _Second, whoever this is, has pink hair. _Why does pink ring a bell? Ugh, its hard to think straight. _My body feels like a limp piece of spaghetti, I can barely move my limbs much less anything else to get him off of me. His body is heavy, but not where I couldn't breathe easily. A sudden gust of warm air fans across on my neck and it clicks that this guy's head is on my shoulder.

_ So that's where the pink hair is coming from. Pink hair. There's something important I need to remember about pink hair. But what? _Turning my head to look at it better, I get a whiff of something, something nice and soothing. I breathe in the smell some more and it calms and relaxes me more. It's very light, so I have trouble trying to place it. Almost on cue, he starts moving again and a weight lifts off of me. I immediately miss the feeling of warmth as he lifts himself up. _So he was the cause of it._

My thoughts are still jumbled, but piece by piece things are clicking together. His face appears in my field of view, hovering over me. I look at him intently trying to remember. _Huh, odd looking scarf. _A piece clicks. _What's that odd mark on his arm? Looks kinda like a bird. Is that a tattoo? _Another piece clicks. _He was the one who tackled me. I was running and he chased me down and tackled me! _His head moves closer until we were arm's length apart. _Why was I running? _I still feel weak limbed and make no effort to get up or move. As my eyes wandered around trying to find more clues, I stop when I get to his face. Or more accurately, his eyes.

I do nothing but stare into those onyx eyes. Mesmerized, I don't notice anything else until a nearby shout jerks me out of that stupor. He moves out of sight and I feel more than hear a thump of him sitting down by my left side. I turn my head gingerly, mindful of my headache, in the direction the shout came from. Three seemingly familiar people were running down a hill in our direction. _I seen them before. I know I did. Where though? _A few seconds tick by, then the last piece clicks into place. Fear shoots through me and fuels my limbs into action.

_ Crap, it's the demon allies. Gotta go, gotta go! Move arms! Move! _It takes a lot of willpower to push myself into a sitting position. I barely notice the blue flying cat as it flies into the arms of the guy next to me. They start babbling happily to each other while I'm focusing on escape. I scoot away on my butt a few times before feeling up to turning over for a crawl. I pick up some distance from Pinky and the cat as I make a desperate attempt for escape. Gathering my legs under me, I make a push to stand upright. That was the plan until something strong attaches to my ankle and yanks, causing me to fall.

I twist quickly out of reflex to land on my side and use my arms to protect my head. _Thank you Theater Arts! _I push my upper body up enough to look behind me ignoring the new wave of dizziness and pain that assaults my mind. Pinky has a grip on my ankle while giving me a very intense look, and I consider kicking his hand to break free. That is until I see Mr. Grumpy-Face and Blondie almost upon us, with Red leading the pack._ What is that in her hand… a sword? A sword! And she is heading over here and looks angry! Shit shit shit shit! _I try yanking my leg free, but Pinky's grip only tightens. I start crying as I realize that I'm not getting away.

As Red gets close to within striking distance, I curl up as much as I can into a ball and use my arms to protect my head. Her footsteps stop in front of me and a sob escapes. _Mom, Dad, I love you. I'm sorry. _I feel something touch my head, and I curl into a smaller ball. Whatever is on my head moves back and forth with nothing else happening. Just the movement on my head. _Wait, is she stroking my head? What the hell is going on?_

I relax after a couple of moments when there is no change in the situation and I dare to peek out from under my arms.

Red is crouched in front of me with a soft and gentle smile on her face. To say I'm surprised is putting it mildly. _What is going on? I thought she was about to literally unleash hell on me. _I relax slightly and uncurl my body as it seems that she isn't going to do anything harmful to me. She stops stroking my head and leans back on her heels. The blue cat says something while flying over our heads which causes Pinky to reply in a shout. Startled, I look quickly over at him to see an angry pout accompanied by a blush on his face.

I would be a liar if I said that blush wasn't cute on him. I feel my cheeks warm a little in response. I see that Pinky released his grip on my ankle and I tuck my leg in closer to me. I look away from him only to see the Mr. Grumpy-Face and Blondie watching me with amused expressions. A low, gentle voice brings my attention back to the woman in front of me. I look at Red as she looks at me, also with an amused expression. _What the god given heck is going on here? It doesn't seem to be like they are going to hurt me. But then what was that bit about the demons?_

She says something to me in the gibberish that I can't make out. I tilt my head to the side confused and shake my head that I don't understand. She thinks for a bit and taps an armored hand to her chest and says a word. When she then points at me, I get what she wants. My name.

Sitting up in a cross legged position, I tap myself on the chest and say, "Krystina." She repeats my name in a garbled up way, so I repeat it slower and with more enunciation. "Krys-ti-na."

"Klis-ti-na." She says. _Close enough. I had worse butcherings of my name. _I nod in approval before pointing at her to repeat her name. Listening hard as she says it, I sense an odd inflection. _Almost sounds like a mixture of 'R' and 'L'. Probably going to mess it up. Oh well, no one is perfect. _

"Erlza." I say and she gives a nod of approval. _Well at least I didn't mess that up too much. Maybe. Now I don't have to keep calling her Red. _I look at the other two as they come over to crouch near us. Blondie by Erza's right, and Mr. Grumpy-Face by her left. Blondie goes next on the name game.

"Lucy." I blink in surprise and blurt her name out. _What the hell, a name in English? What are the odds of that? _She close her eyes and nods happily. A low voice male voice sounds off near me.

"Gray." I look over towards the black-haired in surprise and get a bigger one for my troubles. _What the heck!? Why is his shirt off? Sure he looks good, but what kind of playboy stunt is this? _

"Eh!?" I say in response of seeing him topless. _Huh. Looks like he has the same tattoo as Pinky. _A quick glance to my side confirms this. I also see the same mark on Lucy's hand. _Ok, are they part of some sort of gang?_ I lean away from Gray, and Erza says something to him which causes him to freak out. I hear boisterous laughter coming from the side, so I look over and up to see Pinky standing up nearby laughing his ass off. He says something to Gray which causes Gray to yell back. Pinky is about to shout again when he glances over to me and sees my gaze.

He points to his face and says happily, "Natsu."

Looking into his eyes, I smile and whisper back, "Natsu."

* * *

**Author Notes:**

Just to point out, in the story I'm taking a lot of the cannon stuff from the manga and anime. Like the town Hargeon in the anime is spelled Harujion in the manga. I'm using a mix of the anime and manga for the conversations between the characters. This is why the chief is saying Hoga, because he is in the manga.

Also had it pointed out that not everyone will understand what Theater Arts is. It's a class offered in some schools that teaches you how to act. Like in a play/movie. You also learn acting techniques like how to fall down on the ground without injuring yourself.

More shall be revealed about our mystery woman named Krystina in the future chapters.


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer:

I do not own any of the characters or plot ideas from Fairy Tail. It is owned by Mashima Hiro.

Previously:

_ I hear boisterous laughter coming from the side, so I look over and up to see Pinky standing up nearby laughing his ass off. He says something to Gray which causes Gray to yell back. Pinky is about to shout again when he glances over to me and sees my gaze._

_ He points to his face and says happily, "Natsu."_

_ Looking into his eyes, I smile and whisper back, "Natsu."_

* * *

"My, my. What do we have here? I think Natsu just got himself an admirer." says a slyly smiling Lucy in a fake whisper while she watches Krystina and Natsu exchange names.

"They llllllllike each other!" cheerfully cries out the flying blue cat before snickering loudly.

"I do not, Happy!" shouts out Natsu angrily while he waves both of his arms wildly in the air. Gray returns with all his clothes on and has a smirk on his face.

He gives Natsu a look of confidence before raising his arms in the air in a shrug as he replies, "An admirer? Highly unlikely. Even she is too smart to like you, flame-brain." At this, the angry pink-haired guy jumps forward and raises up both fists.

"You wanna go, Popsicle?" growls out Natsu.

"Anytime, anywhere you overheated gecko." retorts Gray.

At this, both of them butt foreheads together in an attempt to out stare the other to get them to back down. Which doesn't work, as usual. Within seconds they begin fighting with fists and magic, embroiled in their long-time rivalry. Ezra stands up and is about to forcibly separate the two, when a rather loud gasp catches the attention of the females. There on the ground, Krystina is still sitting and is now staring wide eyed and open-jawed at the two guys. Her mouth starts to move like she wants to say something, but no sounds are forthcoming. With a shaky hand, she points at the boys and stammers out some word that is too soft to hear due to the noise of the fight.

Erza turns with a frown on her face and yells, "Both of you stop fighting and shut up!"

Snapping to attention, the males shout in unison, "Yes ma'am!" while getting on their knees and bowing their heads low to the ground. Satisfied. Erza turns back to the woman on the ground and tries to calm her down again.

Giving a light laugh, Lucy says, "She is an excitable one, isn't she?"

"Yes she is. Seems like everything is shocking to her." Erza replies before shifting her attention back to Krystina and crouching in front of the woman on the ground again. "Its ok, they stopped fighting now. No need to be scared. You're fine, Krystina. They aren't going to hurt you." At the sound of her name, the brunette takes her eyes off of the boys and focuses on the two girls. She then starts making movements with her hands trying to say something to them. Neither girl is able to figure out what she is trying to say in her language and movements.

The females shake their heads and shrug their shoulders signaling that they don't understand, which causes the unknown woman to slump down in a huff. Silence befalls the group for a few moments and Erza breaks it by standing up quickly and coughing.

With everyone's attention on her, Erza states, "Alright, we've been wasting enough time here. Let's get back to the Guild." She walks over to her wagon and everyone else picks up whatever they dropped on the ground. A moment later, the group is ready and they start walking off in the direction of the beach. All except the woman on the ground. She just watches them walk off with large eyes.

"Hey guys, what about her?" asks Happy the cat as he flies around their heads. At this, the group turn as one to look back towards the woman who was watching them leave. At their stares, she ducks her head and looks away.

* * *

Watching them walk away, I feel a pang of sadness in my heart. _Why do I feel sad? I barely know them, much less can even talk to them. _At the sound of the blue cat talking, I think his name was Happy, I see the group turn and look at me. I quickly look away in shame. _I guess it's rude to watch people leave. What am I going to do when they're gone? This is a new place, most likely a new world and I don't know anything about it. Well, correction, I know one thing. Magic. This world has magic. _A strange feeling starts to grow inside me at that thought.

Before I can dwell on it further, I'm broken out of my thoughts by a hand appearing in front of my face. I jerk upright to look into the smiling face of Lucy as she is crouched in front of me with the others behind her. I look at her hand, then at each of their faces in confusion. Lucy beckons me to get up, while Gray and Ezra nod in approval. I look at Natsu and he motions with his hand to get up as well. Suddenly feeling really happy, I smile at them before grabbing Lucy's hand and she helps me up. They give a cheer as I stand, which makes me even happier.

Smiling at them I notice that the guys are taller than me, Gray by half a head, and Natsu a little less. Erza and Lucy are about my height, Erza a little more, Lucy a little less. Lining up on either side of me, Lucy and Natsu each wrap an arm over my shoulders and give me a slight push. Linked together like this, we start walking down a path I haven't noticed before. _Even though I have no idea where I am or why I am here, and there are demons, and magic, and flying, talking cats, this may not be such a bad place after all. _

* * *

The group of 6 make quick time and soon arrive at a beautiful beach. The two older women just watch the boisterous antics of the younger members of the group with smiling faces. Happy insults Lucy causing her to chase him around for an attempt at revenge. He flies around just out of reach, to the irritation of the blonde girl. The boys kept getting into heated arguments which led to more fistfights. Erza would quickly step in and bark out an order which would cause the boys to sling their arms over the other's shoulder to act like they were the best of friends. This would cause Lucy and Krystina to giggle. They traveled down the beach for a half hour like this before a large ship appears in the distance.

Looking extremely startled, Gray shouts out, "A pirate ship!"

"Don't tell me you hijacked it! Whoa…" says Happy in awe as the stares at the ship.

Shaking in fear, Lucy screams out, "NO! I don't want to ride that!" She then shivers in fright.

Giving Lucy an easygoing smile, Natsu replies, "If you're going to swim, I'll accompany you."

"Not going to happen!" snaps Lucy, immediately shooting down the idea.

Erza pays the younger members no mind, while Krystina just gawks at the ship. The high-strung antics of the younger group members settle into easy-going silence. Lucy would give the ship a nervous look and shiver now and again. As they continue to move along the beach, a large group of people appear out of the jungle close to the ship.

"Hey! It looks like the villagers are here to send us off!" squeals a now excited Lucy. She waves to them and shouts are heard coming from the larger group. The large brunette starts to slow down as she stares intently at the group. Erza notices this action, but doesn't say anything. She just keeps a closer eye on their new traveling companion. When the group gets close enough to start making out the villagers clearly, Krystina stops with a large gasp. Turning almost as one, the friends see her eyes widen in fear.

"Not this again." mutters Gray, starting to get annoyed. The large woman takes a step backwards, still staring at the villagers. She quickly spins towards the woods to make a break for it. Before Erza can say anything, Natsu, who was closest to the frightened woman, quickly grabs her by the wrist. Digging in his heels, he effectively stops her escape. Lucy and Happy both share a worried look at how afraid the brunette is. Erza just nods in approval at Natsu's quick actions.

"Hey Lucy, she looks really scared of the villagers." comments Happy quietly.

"Yea, she does." replies Lucy just as quietly while she goes to hold the blue cat in her arms.

"Tch." Gray says irritably as he looks away from the scene. Krystina tugs against Natsu's grip trying to get him to follow her if he won't let go. She says something in a begging tone as she looks over to the rest of the group.

"They aren't going to hurt you. It's ok." calmly says Natsu. She shakes her head before pointing back at the villagers and tugging harder. When Krystina lets up enough to change her stance, Natsu quickly pulls her to him and immediately gets her in a one-armed embrace. Everybody looks at him, stunned at his sudden move. Recovering quickly, she starts struggling against his hold. He just tightens his grip, causing her face to be smothered in his scarf.

Gray, Erza, and Lucy all share looks of silent agreement to stay back and see how this plays out. Krystina struggles and pushes against Natsu for a few moments before she gives up. A few more seconds later and Natsu's grip visibly loosens. Without warning, the large woman seems to collapse, startling everyone. She seems to of fainted until in a practiced motion, she twists her body and arm to break the wrist grip Natsu still had on her. Not stopping her fall, the brunette uses the momentum to keep turning until she is facing away from the others and takes off towards the woods again.

"Stop!" Erza orders. Unheeding the command, the mystery woman keeps running.

"Catch her flame-brain!" shouts Gray.

His voice seems to jump start the slightly dazed pink-haired man. Dropping his pack, Natsu dashes over and quickly catches up to the woman before she makes it to the woods. This time he catches her in a full on embrace, trapping her arms to her sides. She shouts something in frustration and tries to shake off Natsu's hold. The frightened woman puts up a good fight, even flipping Natsu completely over her shoulder to try to make him let go of her. Unfortunately for the brunette, his hold doesn't break and she gets pulled down as well. Krystina is slightly stunned by the impact before shaking her head to clear it and renewing her struggles.

She tries a new tactic by repeatedly kicking the pink-haired man wherever she can while still trying to squirm out of his hold. Natsu quickly has had enough of her kicks after a few strong blows to his legs. With a loud roar, he quickly pins down both of her legs with his, effectively ending her struggles. She wiggles against the hold for a bit before slumping again in defeat. Not wanting to be tricked again, he keeps a tight hold on the larger woman. The others stand where they are, watching in silence. Unseen by the others, the woman is shaking in Natsu's hold.

He leans his head close to her ear and makes shushing noises, like how one would try to calm a frightened animal. As her shaking continues, he uses his hands to gently rub up and down her arms without relaxing his hold. Her shaking stops after a few minutes, and he continues his ministrations to calm the frightened woman down more. When she releases a sigh and relaxes in his arms, Natsu tentatively relaxes his hold. He stops rubbing her arms and releases her legs. The rest of the group takes this a signal that they can get closer and they silently approach the two on the ground. Natsu helps Krystina off of the ground, but doesn't completely let go of her.

She dusts herself off a bit and reluctantly turns to face the others. The trails left by tears on her cheeks can be clearly seen through the dirt and sand on her face. Gray jumps back like he is burned while Lucy rushes to help comfort the crying woman. Natsu continues to keep his hands on her upper arms to prevent any more escape attempts, but he does back up a bit to give her some more personal space. Gray stands back with Happy to observe the others while Erza also approaches the huddled trio. She hands the large woman a handkerchief to use for her nose. The brunette ducks her head in thanks before using it. Erza stands there watching them before nodding to herself like as if she came to a decision.

"Natsu!" she calls out sternly while clamping a hand on his shoulder. Catching everyone's attention she continues speaking without pausing. Fear shows on Natsu's face, causing Krystina to cringe away from Erza as well. "Since it seems you're the best one to catch and calm her when she runs, I'm putting you in charge of Krystina. She will be your responsibility until we decide matters later."

Stiff as a board, he replies without hesitation, "Aye, sir!" Too scared of Erza's wrath to argue.

"I also want to add that if you do anything untoward or let anything happen to her, you will regret it. Understand? Good. Now let's get her moving again, I would at least like to get back to Harujion before night." She ends matter-of-factually.

* * *

When I finish up using the handkerchief, I give the others an uneasy smile. Natsu lets go of my arms and grabs one of my wrists while Lucy grabs the other. They gently try to pull me towards the demons again. I dig in my heels and refuse to budge. They give me encouraging smiles and tug again. Still unsure, I try not to get pulled forward. Happy, Gray, and Erza join us and I get bombarded with smiles and nods of reassurance. _They all seem so comfortable and confident. Maybe they know what they are doing. They seem so nice, maybe I could try trusting them. _Another tug, and I let myself move forward a step.

The smiles increase and I move forward another step. Before I know it, I'm walking down the beach again, heading towards the mass of demons. Natsu on my left, Lucy on my right, both of them holding onto my wrists. Lucy switches from wrist to my hand and gives it a gentle squeeze in encouragement. Natsu gives me these happy boyish smiles to help me stay calm. Happy stays silent, but flies around everyone in circles with a smile on his face. As we close the distance between the demons and us, I become nervous again. I start to tremble more with each step.

My steps slow, but I don't stop. Soon I am close enough to be able to tell each demon apart. Happy decides to bother Lucy with something which causes her to let go of my hand as she deals with the cat. Still scared, I move to walk behind Natsu to use his height as a shield to help hide the demons from my view. _Why does it have to be demons? The one thing I'm afraid of more than anything._ At the awkward angle, he lets go of my wrist and out of impulse I grab the back of his black vest and his scarf. It gives me a bit more courage as we approach. Nearing 10 yards away, the group stop near the demons. By now, I'm almost whimpering in fear as I huddle up against Natsu's back, trying to hide myself from the demon's view.

I hear strange voices call out towards us and I see Lucy, Gray, and Erza move forward to greet and interact with the demons. Thankfully, Natsu stays back allowing me to stay huddled close behind him and I can peek over his shoulder and scarf. After a few moments of watching everyone interact, I realize something. _These demons don't act evil. They seem nice and friendly. Just like regular people._ I let out a small gasp as the significance hits me and hearing it, Natsu turns to look down over his shoulder at me and grins. He motions his head towards the group and his grin widens in encouragement.

* * *

Erza, Gray, and Lucy were saying their goodbyes to their newly made friends. All were laughing, smiling, and hugging. Most of the way through the goodbyes, a sudden hush befalls the villagers. Turning around they see their latest friend Krystina who is no longer hiding behind Natsu. Looking nervous, she takes a few steps forward before stopping about halfway between Natsu and the villagers. Taking a deep breath she bows down very low and shouts out some words they don't understand. After the initial shout, her voice calms as she speaks.

They may not know what she is saying, but what they do understand is her meaning behind the words. Her apology. Her shame and embarrassment of her fear toward them. Her sorrow at judging them by their looks. As soon as her speech finishes and she stands up again, the tears were seen in her eyes. Almost as one, the villagers rush towards the brunette to envelop her in a giant group hug to show that they forgave her. Krystina let out a squeak of surprise seeing the whole village heading towards her, but she quickly overcomes her surprise and smiles nervously.

Erza, Lucy, Natsu, Gray, and Happy all look at each other and share nods and smiles of approval. The villagers shout and cheer for the larger woman and for the mages. Lucy walks over to stand by Natsu amid the chaos and shares a pleased smile with him.

"Whatever you did or said sure did the trick eh, Natsu?" she says to him. He shrugs it off.

"Didn't really do anything, just kept her calm so she can see that they weren't bad." he replies nonchalantly.

"Still, you did a good job." she chirps back happily.

* * *

On the deck of the pirate boat, I stand with Lucy waving goodbye to the villagers until they are too small to make out. We look at each other and giggle. I hear some sounds from behind me and I turn to see Erza and Gray talking. Lucy soon joins them and I notice that Natsu and Happy are missing. I hear an all too familiar noise coming from the right side of the ship. Turning to look, I see that Natsu is hanging over the side, tossing his cookies.

Happy, who is flying above Natsu, says something before flying to the others which leaves him alone. _Oh poor thing, he gets seasick. Maybe the others haven't noticed yet, I'll see if they can help. _The three other people stop talking as I approach. I give them a look of worry as I point over to Natsu to signal my concern. Looking to where I am pointing, they laugh and wave it off. Like it wasn't a big deal.

"Look at him, can't you help at all?" I plead. They say something flippantly and turn back to each other and keep talking. I frown at this. _Well that's just cold-hearted. Fine, if you won't go, I'll see if I can help then. _Huffing in disappointment, I turn away from the group as make my way towards Natsu. I walk up beside him and touch his shoulder lightly to let him know I'm there.

After he finishes his current round of hurling, he looks slowly over to me with the most pitiful look. My heart aches for him. I just hate seeing people in misery. _Oh poor Natsu. I know how it sucks when you get sick and have to hurl, a lot. I'll do what I can to help. _I give him a sympathetic smile and start to tug off his backpack and sleeping roll. He stands up straight just long enough to let me get it off of him before he has to hang off the edge again. I make shushing noises and rub his back in circles, giving what comfort I can.

It seems to help a little bit. From the look and sound of it, his stomach is close to being empty and the dry heaves will start soon. I cringe at the thought, remembering all the times I've been sick at my old job. _I know exactly how he feels. Nausea is not something to be taken lightly, especially when you get it often. I don't know how it is for him, but for me the dry heaves are the worst. _I start to alternate between massaging and rubbing his back. Each episode he has seems shorter than the last, and it takes longer before he has another one. Somewhere during this, Happy made his way over to watch us.

I look over at him to see him staring at me intently. I get slightly flustered at this. _Ok, why is he giving me that strange look? Is it wrong to help this poor guy when he is so distressed? _Seemingly coming to some sort of decision, he nods and helps me rub Natsu's back. I give him a grin in thanks and turn my attention back to the poor pink-haired guy. I think for a bit, trying to come up with something else that I can do right now. _Maybe a soothing song perhaps?_ I start to lightly hum a song that reminds me of home and always calms me down when I hear it.

By the time I repeat the song for a third time, his convulsions seems to have ceased. He still lets out some low groans, but seems to be finished hurling. He feebly lifts himself off of the side and almost flops to the floor. I barely catch him by the waist in the nick of time and I help him stand on his shaky legs. I put his arm over my shoulders and hold onto it to support him before wrapping my other arm around his waist so I can carry him if needed. He gives me such a grateful smile that it melts my heart and causes me to blush. I look away to gather my thoughts and refocus on easing his discomfort.

_ Since it is the ship's movements that are causing this, he should feel better in the middle of the ship. The rolling should be lessened there. _I start leading him towards the middle of the ship, letting him set the pace. We pass by the others and I look over at them. They are giving me these really surprised looks. It is like they never expected someone to help him. I glare and snort in disapproval at them before looking away. _Some friends they are. They don't even lift a finger to help him when he is in obvious distress._ We maneuver around some barrels and rope and other things a ship seems to need to have on the deck. I lean him up against a wall in the middle of the ship, near the door that leads into the interior.

Making sure we were far enough from it that if the door opened we wouldn't get hit, I let him slide down until he was sitting. I join him right after he settles down. He is still breathing heavy, but doesn't look like he is going to throw up anymore. His eyes are tightly shut in concentration. I remember back to my American Red Cross and basic first aid courses that I took a couple of years ago. _Ok, now that he seems to of calmed down, he needs something to drink so he won't be getting dehydrated. I don't know how long we will be here on this ship. So the sooner we take care of this, the better off he will be in the long run._

Using the wall as support, I stand up planning on finding someone to help me get some water. As if on cue, one of the crew members happened by and I wave my arms to get his attention. Using my pantomime skills, I do my best to convey to the pirate that I would like to get a drink for Natsu. The pirate nods with a grin and motions for me to wait there. _I hope that its water or juice and not something alcoholic._ Natsu lets out a groan and I turn to look down at him. I see that his face is starting to have that green look to it again. I move to sit beside him, this time facing the wall.

Leaning him forward so his head can rest on my shoulder, I start humming and rubbing his back again. Like what I would do for a sick child. I resist the urge to rock him as well since that will most likely make his seasickness worse. A moment later, I feel a quick tap on my free shoulder. Twisting my head back to look, I see that it is the pirate, back with a cup of something with Happy floating behind him. I thank the pirate the best I can and after he leaves I sniff at the cup. _Hmm, no smell. Good sign that it isn't alcohol. Still, better do a taste check first. _

Quick sip. _Tastes like water to me, slightly woody and stale, but better than nothing. _Setting the cup beside me, I gently nudge Natsu off of my shoulder and lean him against the wall again. Gently, I tap his face to get his attention since his eyes are still closed. I bring the cup over to his face and motion for him to drink when he finally opens them. Natsu groans and shakes his head, but I continue to motion that he should drink. Happy says something to Natsu that seems to convince him. He takes the cup from me in shaky hands. I steady the cup for him and he drinks the water in one go.

He lets out a relieved sigh and mumbles something to me. I laugh and say, "You're welcome." He closes his eyes and drifts off to sleep. I watch his face for any signs of possible signs of distress. I hear Happy say something and looking back towards him, I see he has a smirk on his face. I grin back which seems to catch the cat off-guard. _Hmm? I wonder what it was he said._ I reach over and pat his head a few times.

"You're a close friend to Natsu, aren't you, Happy?" I ask him, knowing that he wouldn't understand.

He looks at me confused and I just warmly smile down at him. Turning back to Natsu, I check his breathing and pulse before coming to the conclusion that he will be fine for now. _Since he is sleeping, I should make him more comfortable. He could get a crick in his neck sleeping like that. _I slowly unwrap Natsu's scarf so I won't wake the poor guy and lay it to the side so he can have an easier time breathing. I look in surprise to see an old scar on the right side of his neck. _Now how did he get that? I hope it wasn't serious. I can ask him about it later._

"Happy." I say softly to the blue cat. He looks up at me with those wide eyes. I motion for him to stay and he nods before sitting next to Natsu. Getting up, I head back to the side of the ship to retrieve Natsu's pack from where we left it. Doing so means I pass by the others in our group.

I hear them talking to each other and I ignore them still feeling miffed about their lack of regard for their friend. Picking up the backpack, I grunt a bit in surprise on how heavy it is. _Feels like my high school backpack when I have it crammed full of all my textbooks. Or about a bag of chicken feed back home. _With a bit of a grunt, I swing the bag over one shoulder and make my way back to my sleeping patient. Letting the bag drop down with a thump, I pull out the blanket on top of the pack. After a moment I have it folded up and lay it on the floor next to the wall. Then crouching down, I guide Natsu's sleeping body to the wooden deck to lay on his back, and have the blanket act as his bed.

Standing up again, I look down at him and smile at his sleeping face. _He does seem a lot more peaceful now. I hope that I was able to help. _Happy who has been watching me, decides to fly back to the other group. I spare them only a passing glance, still in my 'Doctor mode'. I'm more concerned of the welfare of the guy who I decided to take charge of. Not knowing how bad he stays seasick or how long we will be at sea, I plan on doing my best to make sure he will be okay. _After all, he helped me probably more than he realizes with my fear of those nice demons._

I sigh a bit at the memory of my last escape attempt. _What is it about him that is so damn calming? I guess I just have to take care of him now so maybe I can find out more about him later. If I remember my lessons correctly, without proper treatment seasickness can become deadly if the person isn't taken care of after a few days. I hope this trip doesn't last long for his sake. __Man, it's too bad that I don't have my bag that I carry medicine in. Then again, it's not like I was planning on coming to this world. _

With things now peaceful, or at least as peaceful as it could be on a pirate ship, I sit back to relax and sort through everything I learned since I got to this world.

* * *

"Guys! Guys! Natsu doesn't seem sick anymore!" exclaimed a joyful Happy as he flew over to his friends.

"EH!?" replies the group all at once, surprised by this news.

"Happy, is this true?" asks Erza.

He does a back flip in the air before saying cheerfully, "Aye, sir!"

"Well this is an interesting turn of events." says Gray, quickly recovering from shock. He then asks, "What is he doing now?"

"Sleeping from the look of it. I've never seen him look like that while on transportation." Happy replies in a cheerful manner.

"And Krystina?" questions Erza.

"She is staring at Natsu a lot. I think she is broke." the cat answers.

A sly smirk appears on Lucy's face as she says in relief, "Maybe we can convince her to join us on future missions so we don't have to deal with Natsu's motion sickness anymore."

Erza glares hard at Lucy and asks angrily, "_What _future missions?"

"Oh, that's right, the punishment for breaking the rules." whimpers out a frightened Lucy. Scared out of their wits, Lucy, Gray, and Happy huddle up in fear hoping Erza won't hurt them as the red-head oozes out an evil aura.

* * *

I stay near Natsu for the whole trip, which lasted less than the whole day to my surprise and relief. Staying in 'Doctor mode' the whole time, I had him wake up every now and again to drink more water that I was able to procure from the pirates before letting him go back to sleep. When he starts groaning, I would either hum or turn him onto his side to rub his back. Happy comes by to check on Natsu now and again, otherwise I'm largely left to myself. The rest of the time that I am not taking care of the sick man, I am thinking about my situation. I came to the conclusion that until I can at least learn the language, I should try to go with the flow and not be surprised by everything.

_Never in my life would I of thought that I would somehow get 'magically' whisked away to some far off place. Magic, huh? I wonder if that really was magic I saw those two use in that scuffle or was I just seeing things. There are nice demons, cats that can fly and speak, I guess it wouldn't be too far off the mark to think that there is magic as well. _I look up into the sky and watch the clouds with a heavy sigh. _Can anyone learn magic in this place, or only a select few? What kinds of magic is there? _I look back down at the sleeping male. _His complexion still seems to be normal, that's a good sign. _

"I wish I could talk to you and everyone else, I have so many questions." I sigh wistfully.

I hear shouts coming from the pirates and I turn to look behind me to see that we are approaching a sprawling port town ahead. I look over at my traveling companions in curiosity and see that they are gathering their gear together. _Ah, so I guess that confirms my suspicions that Natsu and them are only passengers and not pirates. Seems weird that pirates would act like a passenger ship. Maybe they aren't pirates and just look like them? Oh well, just another one for the question pile. _I turn back to Natsu who is still sleeping peacefully, despite the increase of noise.

I kneel down by his head and gently tap his shoulder to wake him up. His eyes open at my touch and I motion for him to get up. He nods with a smile and I smile back while handing him back his scarf. As we near the port, the ship rocks a bit more violently which causes Natsu's face to pale as he sits up. I rub his back and slowly lean him against the wall again. Gathering his blanket, I roll it up and attach it back to Natsu's pack before shouldering the load myself. We wait for the ship to dock and get secured. The rocking becomes barely noticeable now and his complexion comes back some. I move to put his arm over my shoulders to help him up, but he refuses.

_ Stubborn guy. Heh. Ah well, I would do the same. _He makes it up on shaky legs and I stand up beside him ready to support him as needed. He slowly and cautiously works his way across the deck. I stay close beside him, keeping an eye on his condition. About halfway across the ship, the rolling motion starts getting to Natsu again. I quickly wrap an arm around his waist to steady him. I already see that the rest of the gang is waiting for us when Natsu and I reach the side of the ship. Walking down the gangplank was horrible. I'm worried it would break under our weight, and its wobbliness had Natsu's face turn green again.

I could feel his abdominal muscles start convulsing, and I turn him to lean out over the water as soon as we were off the gangplank. Turning to face his side and shrugging his pack off of my shoulders, I wrap my other arm around the front of his waist to keep him from possibly falling in. I take my other arm and move it upwards so I can rub his shoulders and also keep his scarf from getting soiled.

After a minute or two, Natsu's complexion begins to get better again. I continue to rub his back as he stands upright and I remove my arm that was holding him up. I gently lead him away from the edge of the dock so we are less likely to have some accident. As I kept working on Natsu to help him recover, I look back at the gang to see them staring at me, almost awestruck.

Forgetting that we don't speak the same language, I ask them, "Why are ya'll looking at me like that?" They shake their heads in amazement and don't say anything. _Ok, now I am confused. They seem to be friends, but they don't care when he is seasick. And when I help him they look at me like its amazing. W. T. H. For real._ I give the group a long appraising look.

_ Either something is messed up with this friendship, or maybe its some sort of cultural rule thing I messed up. Either way, its confusing and another thing to ask about. _I'm shaken out of my thoughts by a loud whoop coming from Natsu as he moves away to do a happy dance and cheer. I chuckle at the sight to see him so energetic after his recovery. _Guess he is more of a kid than an adult. Still, its cute and I'm happy... _I'm shaken out of my thoughts for a second time in just as many moments, by a big bear hug from behind. Next thing I know, I'm lifted up and spun around real fast. I shriek out in surprise at the fact that my feet aren't on the ground.

For some reason, this really freaks me out. I flail my limbs and scream in terror while I hear Natsu shouting something behind me. Not soon enough I'm back on my feet. My heart is beating rapidly and I'm breathing heavily trying to recover from that shock. _That was soooo not fun._ My knees get weak, and I slump down to the ground on my hands and knees with Natsu still hugging me from behind. His shouting hasn't stopped just yet and when he does, he hugs me even tighter. Hearing laughter, I turn my head to see the others laughing at us. _Or most likely at me for that shriek. Heh, now I know why my female friends hated it when I hugged and spun them around fast. Looks like they got their revenge without even trying. That's karma for ya. _

Everyone but Erza starts talking towards Natsu and me in a mocking tone while giving us amused looks. Natsu retorts back at them angrily. When Gray says something that sounds insulting, Natsu lets me go and almost flew to Gray in a rage to start another fight. Feeling recovered from my earlier terror, I laugh lightly along with Lucy as Erza says something which causes them to suddenly act all buddy-buddy for who knows how many times today. Erza then looks at me, before saying something to the others in a serious tone. They look at me, then back at Erza before replying. _Oooookay. Now what is going on? Jeez, its annoying not knowing the language._

She raises her arm in a signal like they are moving out. I grab a strap of Natsu's pack as I stand back up from my earlier fright, when his hand stops me. He gives me a big smile and signals that he is okay. I nod and he swings it on his shoulders in a practiced motion. Erza turns to walk down the street with her luggage wagon trailing behind. The others follow quietly along and I walk behind them. We take a lot of twists and turns in this maze of streets until Erza decides to stop at some random shop. She says something quietly and goes in alone.

I decide to take a seat on the ground and rub my feet. They started making their complaints known a few streets back. _Just socks and cobblestone streets don't mix. Owies. Just about as bad as breaking in new shoes. I hope we don't have to walk for a while. _I take off my bright red fuzzy socks to massage them better. That's when I realize something. My mind has been so focused on everything going on that I forgot that I have been wearing nothing but a pair of sweats and a nightgown. I feel my face heat up in embarrassment and I look down to hide the blush.

_ Oh thank the gods above that I didn't decide to wear my thin silk gown. That would be sooo embarrassing! Well more embarrassing then being in this nightgown. Dammit, well this is great. I need to get new clothes as well I can't run around in just these clothes… Crap, I'm an idiot! Been so caught up about magic and stuff that I didn't even think about how I'm going to support myself. _I grab my socks to try to clean them so I can have something for my hands to do as I think more about my situation. _What am I going to do for food, and clothes, and stuff much less trying to get back home? I don't want to burden these guys. I don't know how I can earn whatever passes for currency in these parts. _

Realizing the extent on how bad my situation is, I give up trying to be gentle on my socks. Violently shaking out as much dirt and sand as I can, I go to put them in my pocket before I remember my iPod. _Oops. That wouldn't do. Don't want dirt and stuff to gunk up the electronics. Better check on it._ I reach into my pocket and find nothing.

"What the…?" I mutter to myself. I dig deeper into my pocket and I quickly change to the other pocket on my sweatpants again to find nothing. "Aw dammit." I whine to myself. I slump down feeling depressed that I lost one of the few links I had to my home.

"Klistina?" I look up to see Lucy standing in front of me with a questioning look on her face. I give her a sad smile and pat my empty pockets while shaking my head no. I look down again, still depressed. I feel a tap on my head and I look up again to see her holding out my iPod and headphones. Happiness floods through my system as I smile widely and nod yes while reaching out for it. She hands the iPod over before sitting next to me. She looks at it questioningly and points at it. _Ah, so she is curious. Hmm, odds are there isn't any wi-fi, so I can't do anything that needs it. That takes out a lot of functions._

I click the home button and swipe to open it, I hear a small noise of surprise beside me and I grin at her. Looking through the apps, I decide to choose something simple. Music. I tap on the app and go to lengthen the wire on my retractable headphones when I feel a warmth on my other side. Glancing over, I see Natsu looking at the iPod in curiosity and Gray walking over as well to see it. Still grinning, I detach the cord from the jack while quickly retracting the cord before slipping it in my pocket. I start scanning through the play lists before settling on one I simply have labeled as Me.

Adjusting the volume, I tap play and a soft, gentle, Celtic melody starts. I see their pleasantly surprised reactions and that makes me feel happy. An sudden weight settles on my head and before I react, I feel something furry along my neck. I grab at it to see a blue tail with a white tip. _Ah, so that's Happy on my head. He better be house trained._ The song ends after a few minutes and I scroll through the list to look for another song to let them listen to. I settle on one of my favorite songs, Love's the Only House sung by my favorite female singer, Martina Mcbride.

As the opening chords start, I close my eyes and I feel a weight lift from my heart. I always feel like I come home when I hear her music no matter where I am. As the song gets to the second chorus I start singing softly with it, forgetting about the other people by me.

_Love's the only house big enough for all the pain in the world  
Love's the only house big enough for all the pain_

_You drive three miles from all this prosperity  
Down across the river and you see a ghetto there  
And we got children walking around with guns  
And they got knives and drugs and pain to spare  
And here I am in my clean white shirt  
With a little money in my pocket and a nice warm home  
And we got teenagers walkin' around in a culture of darkness  
Livin' together alone...all I can say_

_Love's the only house big enough for all the pain in the world  
Love's the only house big enough for all the pain_

_And I can't explain it and I can't understand  
But I'll come down and get my hands dirty and together we'll make a stand  
Somewhere 'cross the parking lot some bands playin' out of tune  
City streets are gonna burn if we don't do something soon  
And señorita can't quit cryin baby's due now any day  
Don Juan left got sick of trying  
No one there to show him the way  
She came down to the grocery store and she said I-  
I wanna buy a little carton of milk but I don't have any money  
I said hey I'll cover you honey 'cause the pain's gotta go somewhere  
Yeah the pain's gotta go someplace  
So come on down to my house  
Don't you know that_

_Love's the only house big enough for all the pain in the world  
Love's the only house big enough for all the pain  
Don't you know that  
Love's the only house big enough for all the pain in the world  
Love's the only house big enough for all the pain _

I feel a hug suddenly envelop me from the side before the song's ending chords are done. I open my eyes in surprise and see nothing but blonde hair. A cold hand touches my face to wipe away a tear I didn't know was there. Lucy moves her head to reveal Gray's softly smiling face and his hand on my cheek. A warm arm reaches around my waist and an even warmer body presses up next to mine on the other side.

I turn my head to see Natsu grinning at me like a fool. Happy moves off my head to land in my lap and hugs me the best he can. A soft tap on top of my head causes me to look up into Erza's smiling face as well. Looking at those five faces with cheerful smiles causes a happy bubbling feeling to well up in my heart.

"Everyone." I say softly before I start smiling and cry some more. _These people. We barely know each other and yet here they are making me feel like I'm just as loved by them as I am by my own family. I don't know how or why I am here or even if I can get back. But I think that if they are with me, it won't be a lonely journey. _The next song that starts playing is another one sung by Martina, this one is called Happy Girl.

It fits the moment, perfectly. I switch off the music and turn off the iPod's power to save the battery before giving everyone a hug. Happy flies out of my lap after I hug him first. It did take a bit to get untangled from Lucy and Natsu as they cling to me while I tried to get up to hug Ezra. Gray extends a helpful hand and I give him a smile of thanks as he helps me up. Erza roughly shoves my head to hit her armored chest during her hug.

"Ow!" I cry out in pain. When she lets go, I pout and rub my head where it hit the armor. The others laugh and give sympathetic looks. _Ah, so that's normal for her then._

"Klistina." I look back to Erza to see that she is holding out what looks like some sort of ear piece. Gesturing for me to take it, I pick it up and look at it. _Hmm, odd. Looks kinda like the rubbery bit on my ear buds. Smaller though._ I look back at her and she motions for me to put it in my ear. _Curiouser and curiouser. _I place it in my ear and I get a large jolt not unlike an electric shock. I quickly dig it out and shake my head to clear it. My heart beating rapidly from that shock. _Damn, felt that one in my heart. Just like when I touched that metal flagpole while still getting out of that electric fence._

I look at the little piece and then I give Erza a 'what the fuck?' look. She looks at the piece and corrects the position. Then motions for me to try again. I look at it feeling a bit uneasy. She nods in encouragement and much more cautiously I put it in my ear ready to snatch it out if I get another jolt. This time nothing. _Huh? Ok, what now?_

Looking back at her, I raise an eyebrow and she smiles before speaking, "Hello, Krystina. Are you able to understand what I am saying?"

"Eh!" I just exclaim stupidly.

The two guys walk up next to Erza to face me while Lucy stays by my side and all three say in unison, "Glad to meet you, Krystina."

I touch the little bit of rubber and say thoughtfully, "Huh, so it's a translator, two-way I'm assuming. That was a hell of a jolt it gave me though."

"That was due to a magical feedback that was caused when you placed it in backwards. I'm sorry for not making sure it was in proper position before you placed it in your ear. And you're right, it is two-way so we can understand you and vice versa." explains Erza.

"Ok, that makes sense. And that answers one of my questions already. Don't worry about the shock, its not the first time I got a shock like that." I reply. I look at each of them before closing my eyes with a relieved sigh. "You have no idea how good it is to finally be able to talk to y'all normally." Opening my eyes, I grin widely before continuing, "It was getting frustrating. And hello to all of y'all as well. I'm Krystina Skye VanHawkins, you can call me Krysti, and I'm pleased to meet you too." I get bombarded by various greetings all at once, making it hard to tell who said what.

"I have _soooo_ many questions to ask!" I say excitedly as the initial greetings die down. I feel my stomach give out a low growl at this point which causes me some embarrassment.

"Natsu! That's rude!" Lucy huffs out while putting her hands on her hips.

I raise my hand while feeling bashful, and say, "Guilty. And I guess that would be my first question, could we go get something to eat?"

Lucy quickly blushes and looks down in embarrassment. "Sorry, Natsu. Sorry, Krysti."

Natsu just grins and says, "It's ok, Luce. No hard feelings. I'm feeling hungry anyways." He pats his stomach for added emphasis. I look over at him and my inner doctor kicks in again.

"That's right! We need to get some food in you, mister. After that seasickness bout, you're gunna get dehydrated if we don't get some more liquids in you as well." I say to him while putting one hand on my hip and using the other to point at him. Natsu blinks in surprise at my words before suddenly lunging at me and capturing both of my hands in his. Startled, I just gape at his actions.

He gives me a very intense look with a few tears gathering in corner of his eyes before saying extremely seriously, "You are the kindest, sweetest, most wonderful person I have ever met."

Flattered, confused, and flustered, I feel my cheeks warm up a lot at his intense gaze and the praise. "Now that can't be true…" I start to contradict him when he interrupts me, still serious.

"Nuh-uh! It's true. No one ever took care of me like you did when I get motion sickness!" _So its all motion, not just the sea._ His grip on my hands tightens as he continues on in a more angry tone, "Not even my so-called friends over there did as much as you did the whole time I knew them!" Shocked, I look over to the others.

"Is that true?" I ask. All I got was a cough and no one would look me in the eyes. Incredulous at their actions, I ask, "Seriously? You do this _every_ time?" His hold on my hands lessens as he steps back to listen to my budding rant. "Aren't you guys suppose to be friends? But yet none of y'all would try to take care of him when he gets that way? What kind of messed up friendship is that?" I end snappishly. _A friendship like this gets me really steamed up. If this is how they treat their friends, maybe I would be better off without them. _

All four of them look down at the ground, ashamed. I start to berate them. "That's right, y'all should be ashamed of yourselves. I mean seriously, I could maybe, _maybe_, understand every now and again if it he did something to deserve it, but every time? _Really_?"

Erza clears her throat before meeting my angry gaze with a stern stare of her own. "Well, I would actually knock him unconscious with a swift punch to the stomach so he didn't have to be awake and suffer through it." Hearing this, all my protective feelings went into overdrive. I hate seeing people mistreat others. More so if they are suppose to be friends, and especially if they are people I consider one of my patients. It doesn't matter if I barely know these people. This pushed my buttons in a way like never before.

I was mad.

I was angry.

No, I am _pissed_.

I pull my hands out of Natsu's to march over to the red-head and I snap at her, "You _punch_ him? In the _stomach_? When he is suffering from motion sickness? That's a horrible way to help! Haven't each of you at one point have an upset stomach and nausea? How would you feel getting punched in the stomach while your feeling that way?! Hasn't anyone heard of motion sickness pills? Or if you wanted him to sleep, some sleeping pills? At the very least give him some _frickin' _ginger root to chew on!" I end in a shout.

Looking indignant at my accusations, she glares angrily back before heatedly replying, "We didn't know about cures for motion sickness! If we did, of course we would of gotten him some!"

I glare back, not breaking my gaze and snarl, "Did you even try to find out if there were any cures? Did you even _bother_ to check for any?" She looks shocked at my accusation and starts to reply before stopping and hanging her head down.

"No, I didn't." she replies in a quiet, defeated tone. I turn my glare on the other three and they jump back in fear.

"And how about you three? Did either one of y'all even bother asking?" I growl. Silence met my questions. "Just as I thought, and you call yourselves his friends. Tsk." I hiss out. I turn to look at Natsu and my anger melts. He stares at me like he is in complete shock. I walk back to Natsu and catch him in a hug.

Softly I say, "You poor thing. Being nauseous for hours on end is a terrible feeling. I've been through that myself, more than once." I step back from him and I rest my hands on his shoulders. He gives me an unreadable expression, not saying anything.

"Shall we go find a place to go eat? I'm sure you must be starved." I warmly say while smiling up at him.

Closing his eyes, he shakes his head before answering, "Not yet. First, I would like you to apologize to my friends for being too harsh." Stunned, I just gape at him. He pauses before continuing in a calm voice, "They may be inconsiderate about certain things, they may be jerks. Especially ice-bastard over there." He glares over in Gray's direction before looking back towards me. "They may be frustrating. But they are my friends, my _family. _Through the good times and the bad, family sticks together. Maybe they needed to hear from someone new to the family to point out a mistake, but I think that you were too harsh on them. Even if you're just trying to help me." he explains.

Touched by the strength of his love for his family that I could hear in Natsu's words, I nod in acquiesce despite my anger. Letting go of his shoulders, I walk over to Lucy, Happy, Gray, and Erza before giving each of them a long disapproving look. Inside I'm still seething at his mistreatment by them, but I push that down to take control of my emotions. Before I am able to do anything else, Erza drops down on her hands and knees in a very subservient bow. The ring of her armor hitting the cobblestones echoes loudly in the silence.

I blink back my surprise as she starts to speak, "Krysti has been correct in everything that she said. I must apologize to you Natsu, for my lack of consideration for your condition. I have believed that I was right in my actions and now I have been shown the error of my ways. I have treated one of my family badly, and ignored their suffering for too long! I deserve a punishment! Please do what you see fit!"

I take a step back, unsure on how to proceed. Looking back towards Natsu, I see that he too has a stunned expression on his face. Glancing at me, he nods for me to continue. Facing forward again, I take two steps towards the others before bowing as well. I bow as deeply to them as I have for the island demons.

I then begin to speak, "I must apologize as well. Natsu is right, I have spoken too harshly about matters that do not concern me. I feel that people are important and should treat each other with kindness. Friends and family more so as they are extremely precious and must be treasured. So seeing what seems to be mistreatment of those important bonds, I have allowed my passion to control me and I have spoken harshly. Please forgive me and my words."I close my eyes and remain bowing.

I hear Lucy begin speaking, "No, what you said was true. We ignored the suffering of one of our own. We are the ones who should be apologizing. Nastu, we're so, so sorry! Please, can you forgive us?"

"Umm, yea… I'm sorry as well." said Gray in a lame way. Feeling a tap on the small of my back, I look up to see Natsu motioning me to stand up. He gives me a small smile of approval. As I do so, I see that Lucy is bowed just like me and Gray looking away and shifting around uncomfortably. His shirt was off again. _What is up with this guy and clothes? Like seriously. _Natsu walks over to Lucy and has her stand as well. He motions me to join them and I feel curious at what is happening. Natsu then crouches down in front of Erza who has not moved and taps her on the head.

She looks up at him and he then grabs her arms to have her stand up. Getting us all together, he faces us with a stern expression. After looking at all of us, Natsu closes his eyes and lowers his head like he is thinking. After a few seconds, his head pops back up with a large grin plastered on his face.

"Everyone is forgiven! After all, we're all family and we forgive each other for mistakes when they're made." he cries out cheerfully. At that, he plows into us for a large group hug. Out of reflex from years of never being considered part of a group, I sidestep out of the way so as to not mistakenly get caught up in the hug. _I'm glad that he is able to forgive them. Maybe now they will treat him better. _I quickly spin away from the happy scene to give them their 'moment' together. Looking everywhere else, I notice something red on the ground. I walk over to find that I've forgotten about my socks.

I pick them up and slip them into my empty pocket when a sudden silence catches my attention and I turn to see what caused it. I step back in surprise when I see five stern faces staring at me. _What the…? Why are they looking at me like that? Did I do something wrong? _

An angry Natsu stomps over toward me and grabs one of my wrists before dragging me into the middle of the group.

"You're family now." he states in a tone that brooks no argument. To say I'm stunned is an understatement. _They accept people this easily into their family? They don't know me. _

"Aye, sir! You're family now." A high pitched voice quavers. I turn to look into the crying face of Happy who is flying just above us.

"You're now a part of our family." I look at Erza as she says that.

"Welcome." _Gray_.

"Welcome to the family, Krysti." _Lucy._

Natsu grabs one of my hands and holds it up, soon to be enveloped by the hands of everyone else. He look at me and our eyes lock.

"Family." he says.

"Family!" repeats everyone loudly.

Tears start to fall as I feel overwhelmed. "Family." I agree quietly.

**Author Notes:**

If anyone has any questions on why things are the way they are, or if I happen to make a reference about something that you don't understand, then please leave a comment with your question(s). I'll make sure to answer them all before the next chapter. Same goes for Chapter 1 or any in the future that I'll post.


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer:

I do not own any of the characters or plot ideas from Fairy Tail. It is owned by Mashima Hiro.

* * *

_Previously:_

_Natsu grabs one of my hands and holds it up, soon to be surrounded by the hands of everyone else. He looks at me and our eyes lock. "Family." he says._

"_Family!" repeats everyone loudly._

_Tears start to fall as I feel overwhelmed. "Family." I agree quietly._

* * *

We break away from our huddle with smiling faces of various degrees. Light hearted chatter starts up and before we get into any real subject, my stomach growls again. I blush with a sheepish grin, and they laugh at me.

Natsu jumps up while punching the air over his head and shouts, "PARTY!" We cheer at the idea, and quick as a flash, Natsu runs off to who knows where.

"Oi! Flame-brain! Slow down!" yells out Gray in irritation as he and everyone else runs quickly to catch up, leaving me behind in the proverbial dust. I sigh and shake my head in slight disbelief as Gray's shirt falls to the ground forgotten in their rush. _So this is going to be my family while I'm here? Guess that means I need to train just to keep up if they run like that all the time. _Chuckling at the antics of my new found "family", I take off after them at a fast paced walk. I stop to pick up the discarded shirt, and of course that's when my feet decide they want attention by telling me in a form of stabbing pain.

"Crap. If I don't get some shoes soon, I might have to crawl to get around. These cobblestones _hurt._" Reaching the end of the street, I look to the left. Nothing. I look to the right. Nothing as well. "Well shit. Now I lost them. So much for family." I scoff and shake my in exasperation before chuckling slightly. "Heh. Guess I better wait for them to notice than wander around and get lost." I mutter to myself. A cooling, yet strong breeze starts up which makes the shirt in my hand and my gown to lift up and flap around. _Hmm, better take care of this before I accidentally flash someone. _A quick look around shows no one in sight, so as fast as I can I tuck the gown into my pants.

I feel instantly better and more confident than I was a few seconds ago. _Alright, time to sit and rest these feet. _Since the street intersection I am at is a T-intersection, I sit myself along the wall to face the street that the shop was in. I let out a sigh of relief as I sit, happy to get my weight off of my feet for now. I rub at them, hoping to take away some of the ache. Feeling better, I take Gray's shirt and fold up it neatly and set it on my lap to help keep it from getting even more dirty than it already is. Minutes tick by as I wait patiently for the others to come back with my stomach growling loudly.

So in a fit of boredom and in attempt to pass the time, I start working on untangling the knots in my hair after I finish massaging my feet again. Reaching up to take off my hair band that is holding my low ponytail in place, I encounter things that shouldn't be there. I start pulling out twigs and leaves and other plant life. _Damn, I must've looked like some sort of wild woman. _When I feel satisfied with the effort, I start to put up my hair in its usual low ponytail.

I pause my movements as a thought occurs. _Wait. I'm here in a new land, probably going to start a new life. At the least, I should have a new hairstyle to go with it. _I consider my options on what I can do with what I have available, and decide on doing a mid pony tail using half of my hair and leave the rest of it down. I nod in approval of the idea to myself and quickly work on it. I fiddle around with my hair, making adjustments here and there and, wincing now and then as I encounter some rather large knots. I also pull out more plant parts and other things that I missed from my initial grooming. _Damn, how much random stuff can one person get stuck in their hair that isn't on purpose anyways? _When I'm finish, I feel good about the change. _Not much of a change, but then again I don't have much to work with._

Looking down at the pile of stuff that was in my hair, I'm partly horrified at how much there actually is. _Its not like I care about my looks, but my hair must of looked an absolute terror! _I sigh at this. _At least it should look partway presentable now._ I start humming tunelessly to myself to try to stave off boredom while continuing to wait for one of the guys to find me. The streets begin to slowly get darker as time passes and I look up to see that the sky is slowly changing from afternoon to dusk. _Well this is a rather uneventful end to an exciting and emotional day, I wonder though… will I be able to get home?_

I look back down to my hands feeling guilty about how much my family must be freaking out by now since I disappeared. I shake my head to clear it from those thoughts. _Now is not the time to get depressed now. Not until I can get some answers._ Shifting around a bit to get more comfortable, I lean my head back against the wall. I close my eyes and let myself daydream about magic while time ticks by.

* * *

I wake up to the sound of voices nearby. I don't think anything of it at first until whatever I'm laying on gets jostled. I realize 3 things instantly. First, I went to sleep in a strange town. Second, that I'm now laying down instead of sitting upright. Third, whatever I'm laying on is moving. Snapping my eyes open, I find another pair of eyes really close to my face. I cry out in surprise and try to jump back, only to succeed in falling off and landing on my face. I hear laughter and concerned voices, but I'm not able to understand what is being said. My momentary panic subsides as I recognize that its my friends talking. Groaning in embarrassment more than from pain, I roll onto my side and put my hand over my face. My head is ringing from the contact of the road below and my nose hurts. A light suddenly blooms to life nearby to reveal the faces of my new friends standing in a circle over me.

_ Well that wasn't humiliating at all. Not a single bit. _The ringing fades away, but I'm still not able to understand what they are saying. It takes me a moment of thinking before it clicks. _My translator! _I struggle to get up while clutching my nose as it throbs. With the help of Erza, I'm able to get up on shaky legs. I smile in thanks as I start moving my nose to make sure it isn't broken or anything. Without finding anything wrong, I let my hand leave my face and just ignore the pain. Turning towards the others, I tap my ear trying to get the message across to them. The girls catch on first and immediately start searching for the fallen translator.

The guys don't catch on quite as quick.

I sigh at their blank looks while I'm still tapping my ear and say, "I can't understand you." and then tap my ear harder for emphasize. I see understanding flash across their faces. _Now they get it._ I roll my eyes with a smirk. The light that has been beside Natsu suddenly burns a lot brighter and I squint my eyes to get adjusted to the unexpected brightness.

Natsu is holding onto something that's on fire. _A torch._ I first think, then I pause. _Wait a minute… _I look again at his hand and almost gasp as I realize that his _whole_ _hand_ is on fire! _Whoa… so this is magic? I thought I saw his hands on fire when he was fighting Gray on the island. I just wasn't sure if I was seeing things. Now I know for certain. _I stare at the fire and another one of my questions is answered. _This is probably why he feels so warm all the time. Makes sense for a fire user to be hot. _A triumphant shout brings me back to the situation at hand. Gray is holding the translator in the air in victory, grinning like a fool and still shirtless.

I give a small laugh at the sight. He brings it over to me and places it in my hand. I smile at him in thanks. I start to put it in when the memory of the jolt stops me. Pulling it back, I make sure to correctly position it before slipping it in. No jolt. _Thank the gods._ I wedge it in further to make sure it doesn't fall out again even if I fall.

I sigh in relief as I close my eyes. "That's better."

"What happened? How come you didn't follow us?! I haven't been able to eat yet because we were looking for you!" Natsu explodes at first then ends it with a childish whine. He is even stomping the ground in a temper fit. I am taken aback at first, but quickly recover my composure. _That's pretty childish of him. Well if he is going to act like a kid, might as well treat him like he is one. _I just raise an eyebrow in response and look him squarely in the eyes, waiting for him to calm down. He grows angrier when I don't answer him.

"Natsu…" begins Lucy in an exasperated tone when I wave my hand in her direction, effectively cutting her off. I can see Happy floating in the air looking at the two of us worriedly. I keep my eyes locked on his, and take a step forward. I cross my arms over my chest while making sure to not let any emotion cross my face as we stare. His body starts to become engulfed in flames as his anger continues to rise. After a few moments, he finally blinks and looks away while the fire on his body dies away. We are plunged into sudden darkness with the bright moonlight being the only thing that illuminates the street now.

"Natsu." I call out quietly to the pink-haired man. Catching his attention, he looks back up at me angrily and I lock my gaze with his again before continuing calmly, "Today when you kept catching me every time I ran away, that was my max speed. How fast is that compared to everyone else here?" He just gives me a sullen glare. "Well? Answer me please." I ask politely, not changing my tone or volume.

His eyebrows scrunch up in thought as he figures out the answer. After a few seconds he mutters, "Maybe as fast as Happy when he isn't using his wings."

"Good. Now with that bit of information, would I be able to keep up when everyone is running much faster than me?" I ask, still keeping the calm tone. A few seconds later, he glances away and mumbles something. "I'm sorry? I didn't hear that."

He bursts out with, "You can't!", before crossing his arms and turns away, sulking.

"Thank you, Natsu." I start out, still as calm as before. Then in a sharp, reprimanding tone I continue, "I would appreciate it if you would think about things first before putting the blame on someone." He flinches at the tone, but nods his head in agreement. I sigh and turn back to the others. Erza looks at me with approval with how I handled the situation. The others look on with a mixture of awe and fear. _Fear? Am I that scary? _I take a deep breath, shoving aside the twinge of sadness I felt at that thought.

"So who else besides that hot-head and this one is hungry?" I ask cheerfully while pointing towards Natsu then me. Everyone else lets out a chorus of agreement.

Happy flies off saying, "Let's get to the food before Lucy! She'll eat all the fish!" He snickers afterwards while flying higher up into the air.

"You crappy stray!" yells out the offended blonde. She starts chasing the laughing cat around the group while he stays just out of reach. Laughing, we all started down the street at a walk, not a run thankfully. I glance back after a few yards and notice a certain pink-haired person not following. I stop and turn around while shaking my head in slight exasperation. The others noticing, also turn to look.

"Hey! Flame-brain! Come on, we're getting food!" Gray calls out. Natsu just hunches his shoulders in response.

"Still acting like a child." says Erza in disapproval. She starts to move forward to get him when I get an idea. I let a smirk cross my face and I put my hand on her arm to stop her.

"Let me, I got an idea." I snicker to myself as I waltz on over to Natsu. I have this devilish side of me that absolutely _loves_ to tease and embarrass people. Natsu's reactions are just ideal for teasing, making him an ideal target for what I have planned. He moves his head to the side as I move around to his front to face him.

"Hey Natsu, I thought you were hungry?" I ask him playfully. His cheeks puff out in response. I pout at this. "Aw, now don't be like that. It's not my fault that you need learn to think sometimes before just rushing in and blaming people. It can hurt their feelings doing something like that. Along with wasting time and energy that can be used for more important stuff." He huffs a bit at that. I smile and using my index finger, I bop him on the nose. Surprised by that, he straightens up and meets my gaze.

"Now, would you rather of preferred Erza to try to teach that to you?" I ask him sweetly. A look of fear sweeps across his face. He shakes his head no vehemently.

"I like your way much better." he says rapidly. Tilting my head to the side, I close my eyes while giving him a large smile. _This is just too easy, just mentioning Erza is enough to get a great reaction. Seems like messing with Natsu is going to be easier and a hell of a lot more fun than I first thought._

"Glad to hear that." I state cheerfully. Opening my eyes, I then smirk to him. "Now let's go get some food or am I going to have to throw you over my shoulder to get you moving?" His eyes widen before narrowing with an answering smirk appears on his face.

"You wouldn't dare." he states confidently.

"Oh? I wouldn't, would I?" I say playfully.

His smirk increases and he gets a haughty look. "No, you wouldn't."

I raise an eyebrow at him before I bend down quickly and ram my shoulder into his stomach. He lets out an "Oomph!" and using this time, I grab his legs around the back of his knees. I take a step forward to use the momentum to scoop him up. I lock my arms together around his legs, bringing them together and start walking towards the group. _Being a farm girl has its perks. _I smirk to myself. Everyone else is just stunned for a moment and I just smile like nothing is happening.

"Well, what are we waiting for? I'm hungry!" I ask everyone. A loud yell of protest comes from the fire-user as he recovers from my sneak attack and at that, the others just crack up laughing. Even Erza as she laughs lightly at Natsu's predicament.

"What the hell, Crispy! Let me down dammit!" He yells out in anger. I can tell that his arms are flailing around as he struggles to get off.

"Nope!" I chirp. "And if I'm crispy, what does that make you? Flame-broiled? Maybe Barbeque? Ooo, I know! You're Grilled!" I exclaim excitedly. I pat the back of his leg, just above the knee. "Hello Grilled, I'm Crispy! Nice to meet'cha!" I reach the rest of my new found friends and we walk together, all of us laughing except Natsu. He tries to kick with his legs, but it doesn't work very well with my arms locked around his legs in a tight grip.

"Put me down or else!" he howls.

"Or else what, Grilled?" I cheerfully ask with a snicker. At the question, I feel a large whoosh of heat coming from behind me. I narrow my eyes knowing what that implies. "If you set my butt on fire, I will sit on you. And it won't be in a way you will enjoy." I purr out that last sentence. The heat dissipates just as fast as it came. "That's what I thought." I say smugly before glancing over to see Lucy and Gray looking away like they are embarrassed by my words. I see the dark patches on their cheeks indicating their blushes. Erza is too far ahead to see her face in the moonlight.

And Happy, well, is covered in fur so who knows if he is blushing, but his wide-eyed look is enough to clue me in in how he feels about my last statement. I snicker at the shock and discomfort of the people around me. I decide I made my point by now and take a bit of pity on the guy on my shoulder. I take a few more steps before swinging him quickly back over my shoulder so he lands in front of me. He lets out a squawk of surprise at the sudden movement. In the bright moonlight, I can see dark patches covering his cheeks. _Aww, is he blushing? Oh dear, I believe I embarrassed the hot-head. _I narrow my eyes and grin widely in devilish delight.

"So Natsu, think you can walk now, or will I have to carry you all the way?" I ask still grinning and enjoying his discomfit.

"I can walk!" he grumbles in frustration. Reaching up, I ruffle his hair and lean in close to his ear so I can whisper.

"There we go then, Lesson #2: be careful on what you dare me to do. I might just take it a step further." He turns away really quickly and starts walking away, but not before I see his blush deepening. _Oh, I am going to enjoy teasing the hell outta him._

* * *

The six friends are walking along, enjoying each others company. Light, easy banter fills the air, with the occasional insult and resulting scuffle. Before long, they make it to a corner café lit up brightly with cheerful lights.

Seeing this, two members of the group shout in unison, "FOOD!" before picking up their pace to enter the eatery before the others. This causes the rest of the friends to laugh at their antics. Entering the café, they see that the brunette and pinket already seated at a large round table. Krysti waves them over while she and Natsu are almost bouncing in their seats in excitement. As everyone is seating themselves, a young-looking silver-haired waiter walks over with the menus.

Eyes shining in delight, the hungry duo eagerly scan over the menu options.

"YES! They serve Fire Chicken!" exclaims Natsu in joy. While at the same time Krysti's earlier enthusiasm deflates and she slumps in her seat.

"Hmm? What's the matter, Krysti?" asks Gray from right next to her when he notices her change in demeanor.

She looks down and blushes. Looking sheepish, she explains, "I, uh, well…" She takes a deep breath and continues, "I can't read the menu."

"Huh?" says Lucy with a questioning look on her face. "What do you mean you can't read it?"

"Maybe it's because Krysti is just dumb." says Happy matter-of-factually as he is reading over his own menu.

Krysti sinks in her seat more and stares at the table. "Yea, you're probably right." she says softly.

The blue cat looks shocked at not getting the expected angry reaction as he would with the blonde and drops his menu in surprise.

"Krysti. It's not your fault that you can't read the menus. Since you have a different spoken language than us, its not hard to figure out that you have a different written language as well." says Erza reassuringly before continuing in a more normal tone, "Natsu, switch with Gray and help her with the menu."

"Eh? Why do I have to? Gray is right there, he or Lucy can help." Protests Natsu from his seat next to the redhead and Lucy.

Erza glares at him before saying coldly, "I believe I told you that until otherwise decided, _you_ are charged with the responsibility of taking care of Krysti. That includes helping her read the menu."

Shivering in his seat Natsu replies weakly, "Y-yes ma'am."

At hearing this, the brunette lifts her head up quickly. "Wait a minute, he's in _charge _of me?" she looks over at the fire user before looking back at Erza and hooks a thumb in his direction. "Are you sure it isn't the other way around?" she questions. By this time, the two boys are almost done switching seats and Natsu looks offended at the question.

"Hey! What is that suppose to mean?" he protests.

"I think you know exactly what I mean, Pinky." she retorts.

"Who are you calling, Pinky? And I don't need looking after!" he continues. The other four members share amused looks as the two loudmouths start to bicker.

Happy gives his best friend and new friend an intense look before saying, "They llllllike each other." which goes unnoticed by the two. Lucy on the other hand gets an amused smirk on her face, finally glad that Happy found someone new to tease about possible romantic moments.

Just because she had a list of the most desirable Fairy Tail bachelors does not mean that she wants to date every guy that she shows any amount of friendship too. Lucy makes a mental note to burn that list the first chance she has because she doesn't even want to think of the humiliation she will receive if that mischievous cat gets his paws on it. A shudder runs downs her spine at the thought. A couple more moments of the playful squabbling between Natsu and Krysti goes by before Erza smacks her hand on the table, catching everyone's attention.

"Let's figure out what we are going to order so we can get right to business. I'm sure we all have a lot of questions to ask." she says evenly.

Everyone nods in agreement before going back to the menus. Natsu, already knowing what he wants, turns his attention to the brunette beside him and starts explaining the menu to her. About 5 minutes later, the waiter returns for their orders. He writes everything down, looking a little overwhelmed when he gets to the orders of the hungry duo. He leaves with a promise of returning soon with the drinks.

While everyone is calm, Erza again takes charge of the situation. "Okay Krysti, I know that we have a lot of questions for you, and you have a lot for us. So why don't we take turns asking what we want to know?"

"That sounds good to me, who wants to go first?" Krysti asks.

"I do!" Says Happy as he suddenly starts flying around on top of the table in an excited manner. "What kind of fish do you have where you are from?" Krysti laughs softly in response while everyone else drops their heads at his question.

"Well we have many, many kinds of fish. I can't say how much they are the same or different from yours since I don't know what the fish are like over here. But I can say that the oceans are full of more fish than you can ever imagine." she tells him. He gets a happy look on his face and starts drooling as he daydreams about the kinds of fish in her world.

"So I guess that counts as the first question for you guys." the brunette says with a chuckle. Looking down at the cat's blissful expression, she smiles widely. "For mine, hmmm. Well my first question then is, exactly who are you guys?"

With a grin, Natsu lifts a fist up towards with his and proudly states, "We're Fairy Tail!"

Krysti tilts her head a bit while looking at him. "Eh? Fairy Tail?" she asks while tilting her head slightly to the side, confused by the answer.

"Fairy Tail is a wizards guild. All of us are members." Lucy answers while pointing to her guild mark on the back of her hand. "How about you, Krysti? Who are you?"

"Well, I'm no one near as awesome as a member of a wizard's guild." she starts off at first. "As for who I am, I'm really nothing more than an average farm girl working on getting a college education and trying to help her family." she ends looking a bit sheepish.

"What's a college?" asks Gray. Krysti looks towards him with a startled look.

"Does this place have any schools?" she asks back.

"There are schools for people to learn magic." Lucy answers.

Krysti shakes her head, "No, I mean like basic knowledge school. A place to learn how to read, write, learn history, math, etc, etc. That kind of school."

"Not really. Some towns provide it, but those are more for the wealthy children. And the majority of those just use tutors instead. Most of that kind of learning is taught by the children's families." Erza replies.

Krysti looks a little downhearted by hearing that before she continues. "Well in my world, a college is an advanced type of school. Whereas normal school, you grow up learning the basic knowledge needed to live and work in our world. In college, you would gain the specific knowledge and skills toward a given career that you want in life. Like an artist would learn more about all types of art to become a better artist. Or if someone wants to be doctor, then they would learn a lot of advanced medical stuff. And so on. It costs a lot of money to go to college, but as long as you study, you can't beat the knowledge you gain and can really succeed in life." her voice grows more passionate the longer she talked about the subject.

Looking excited, Lucy then asks, "Can you learn anything in college?"

Krysti chuckles, "Just about anything you can think of, there is a college or class somewhere being taught about it. About the only thing you can't learn is on the job experience."

By this time the drinks arrive and the conversation lulls as they are being handed out. A quick thanks to the waiter and everyone goes back to the subject at hand, or rather Lucy does.

"Are there any classes about how to be a writer?" she asks eagerly before taking a sip of her drink.

"Or how about being a better mage?" asks Natsu before the brunette can answer which earns him a glare from the blonde. Krysti raises her hands and motions them to calm down.

"Oh yes, there are more courses on how to be a writer than you can shake a stick at, Lucy. And sorry Natsu, there aren't any courses on being a mage." she explains.

He pouts at this, "How come? Aren't wizards not good enough for college?"

She gently shakes her head and looks him full in the eyes. "Its not that wizards aren't good enough, Natsu. It's the fact that there is no magic in my world." Silence descends on the group as they process what was said.

"What!? What do you mean no magic? Of course there is magic!" Gray exclaims as he quickly recovers from the shock. Krysti shakes her head again.

"Exactly what I said, Gray. Where I am from, there is no magic. People aren't able to light themselves on fire like Natsu is able to do. And we don't have magic translators so people can understand each other perfectly. We also don't anything like Happy over there as well. Now for argument's sake, you could say there is magic in imagination, or true love, or the innocence of a child, and things like that. But the magic you're talking of, doesn't exist anywhere except in stories." she explains. The group looks slightly depressed at this.

"No magic at all. That's really sad." says Lucy softly.

"Now it's not all that bad." continues Krysti in a more cheerful mood. "I'm not sure if this place has done it, but my world has done some incredible things with science."

"What's science?" asks Erza.

Taken aback, Krysti eyes the group in wonder. "You guys don't know what science is?" she asks incredulously and they all shake their heads no in answer. "Huh. Well don't that beat all." she mutters before perking up. "Ok, well I guess the simplest way to explain it is that science is the study of everything."

"Everything? Even fish?" asks Happy.

Looking down at the cat and laughing, she replies, "Including fish." The brunette looks back up and continues with a passionate manner of speaking, "Science is the general term to include all of the studies, but it branches out into many different things. With science we study how and why things are made, and how they work the way they do. And I mean everything down from the tiniest grain of sand, all the way up to the stars and beyond. We use science to study the world, and once we understand how something works, we can figure out ways to use it for ourselves. With science we have made amazing achievements." As she was explaining, her whole face lights up in delight about one of her life's passions.

"What kind of achievements?" Asks Gray.

At this, Krysti gets a smug look on her face. "Well I'm not trying to brag since I'm not sure how it compares to your world's accomplishments, but one of the big ones is that we were able to send men to the moon."

Confused, Natsu asks, "What do you mean 'send men to the moon'?"

She looks over to him before replying, still looking and sounding smug, "What I mean is that we had people go up into space and walk on the moon itself."

At this, chaos broke out with the rest of the group, stating how it wasn't possible for anyone to actually be on the moon and that it had to of been magic after all.

Krysti waggles her index finger back and forth in the air after they calm down a bit and clicks her tongue. "Tsk tsk tsk. No, I told you. Its science. Not magic."

"Without magic, it can't be possible." denies Lucy.

Krysti gets a gleam to her eye before answering, "Ah, but it is possible my dear Lucy. Very possible indeed. You just need the right amount of fuel, an airtight aerodynamic ship, enough necessities, and some advance math, and voila! You too can land on the moon." she says with an infomercial flourish. She then calms down and says dismissively, "Of course, there are a lot more complicated things going on, but I don't want to bore you with the details."

"That is so awesome! I don't understand it, but have you been to the moon as well? What is it like up there?" asks a very excited Natsu.

Krysti shakes her head again, this time with a sad smile. "No, I haven't been. Although I would love a chance to go. You need special college courses and special physical training and you need to learn a _lot_ of complicated stuff just to even have a chance. And not many people who go through the training are picked to go. Its very tough, demanding, stressful, and there are not a lot of people who can handle the job."

At this Natsu looks very crestfallen at the news. Seeing this, she tries to cheer him up. "Hey, how about this? If somehow I'm able to get back to my world, and you're with me, I'll do what I can to help you get to the moon."

Looking excited again he shouts, "It's a deal! Now, I'm all fired up!" as flames coat his body.

Seeing this and feeling the heat, Krysti jumps back in surprise with a rather loud squeak. The others laugh amongst themselves and quietly watch her reactions. It's always fun to watch people not used to being around wizards react to magical displays. Recovering quickly, the brunette studies Natsu as he is still on fire. She reaches out slowly to feel the heat of the flames with her hand. A few inches from his arm, her hand hovers in place as she appears thoughtful. To the horror of the group, she quickly grabs his arm as it is still on fire. Horror turns into disbelief as she doesn't seem harmed by his flames. Caught off guard by the hand on his arm, Natsu's flames quickly die down as he looks at Krysti's hand in puzzlement.

"What are you doing, Crispy?" he asks in curiosity.

She replies absentmindedly, "I was studying your flames. I wanted to know if they burn." He laughs and sets both fists on fire as he lifts them to his eye level.

"Of course they burn! They're dragon flames!" he says with confidence. Krysti lets go of his arm and looks at her hand.

"Then why is my hand not burned?" she asks quietly.

"Huh?" he says while looking back at her.

Instead of answering, she grabs one of his flaming hands with her own. His eyes widen in shock to see that her hand was in fact not being burned at all. They both stare at their hands wonderingly.

"Why doesn't my fire hurt you?" he asks while still feeling stunned.

"I don't know, they're your flames. Not mine. I mean your hand does feel really hot, like when you touch something metal during a summer day. But it isn't anything unbearable." she says.

"Let me try!" demands Happy. He walks over full of confidence and slaps a paw on Natsu's fist. One second later he is running around the table with a paw on fire while crying his eyes out before coming to a stop in front of Lucy. He dunks his paw into her drink with a large sigh of relief.

"My drink…" whimpers a now sad Lucy.

"Erza, are you sure that she is non-magical? That looks pretty mage-like to me." asks Gray. The red-headed woman frowns with her eyes closed in thought. Krysti slowly releases her grip on Natsu and his flames die out again. They look at their hands, then each other before turning to watch Erza.

"I'm still not sensing any magic power coming from her, but that does not mean she doesn't have any. Perhaps she has some inherent fire abilities which causes her flame resistance." Erza says in a normal tone after a couple of moments thinking.

Frowning slightly in thought, Krysti answers hesitantly, "Well, back home I have always loved the heat. I love taking really hot baths, working outside during hot days. And especially when I was younger, I was a bit of a pyromaniac." She ducks her head out of embarrassment and blushes. "Heh, I'm surprised that I didn't get burnt more or destroy more things at my house with my antics. But even then, I would get burnt if I actually got too close to a real fire." she continued.

"I wonder…" started off a thoughtful Lucy. "Is it just Natsu's flames that wouldn't hurt you, or if its all fire?"

"That's an interesting question to find the answer to. We can try it if Krysti is willing when Natsu's fire chicken comes out."

"Why do we have to wait until his food comes out?" asks Krysti in confusion.

"Because it comes out actually on fire." explains Gray. Krysti blinks at that.

"Oh, so he likes it flambéed then. I guess that makes sense." she says.

"Flam-baed?" asks Happy still nursing his burnt paw.

Krysti nods her head before answering, "That's right. Flambé is a cooking term back on my world. It means you put some alcohol, usually wine, on the food and set it on fire so the alcohol gets burned off and leaving the wine flavor in the food."

The others nod their heads in understanding. Natsu then lifts his head and starts sniffing.

"I smell our food! It will be out soon! Finally! I'm so hungry!" he cheers in happiness.

"You can smell the food all the way from here?" asks Krysti in disbelief.

Lucy, who is shaking her head in exasperation at Natsu, says, "Yea, that guy there has a really keen sense of smell. Its uncanny." And just as the fire-user said, the food started to arrived with their waiter and two other helpers. As soon as the plate was set before him, Natsu beginss to dive in when Erza told him to wait sternly. He pouts at her, but stops making a move to eat despite his belly's protests.

"Krysti, do you mind putting your hand in the flame to see if it also won't burn you?" asks Erza politely.

She nods her head, "If Natsu doesn't mind me putting my hand in it that is." she says while looking over at him to gauge his reaction. He waves it off, still pouting at not being allowed to eat with his food right there in front of him. So Krysti takes the same hand and reaches out cautiously toward the flames. A few inches away she lets her hand hover for a few seconds before she moves it into the flame.

Looking surprised she says in awe, "It doesn't hurt! The fire isn't burning me at all." She takes out her hand and stares at it in wonder. "It isn't as hot as Natsu's fire either. Feels almost like a summer breeze."

"Well this is an interesting state of events. We should inform the Master of this when we return." quietly says Erza.

Looking over at the red-head, Krysti asks, "Who is the Master?"

Lucy says, "He is the Master of our guild. A strong and wise wizard. Although somewhat perverted." she says the last part quietly to herself.

"Maybe he will know how I can get home." Krysti says excitedly.

"It's a possibility." Gray agrees cautiously.

Erza grabs a fork and starts to eat her food which everyone takes as a signal to start. They all dig in eagerly and for a few seconds everything is quiet before a loud gasp catches their attention.

"You're _eating_ the fire!?" a shocked Krysti gasps out.

Natsu looks over to her like it's no big deal and answers between bites. "Yea, I can eat fire. Its one of the things I can do as a dragon slayer."

"Dragon slayer? _Dragon_ slayer?! As in those gigantic winged-reptiles with fire breath and are immensely strong and everything like that?" asks the excitable brunette. He nods his head in answer as he is still chewing his food. Without warning an excited Krysti squeals out loudly, which sends Natsu's hands to cover his sensitive ears. Food forgotten, she starts firing questions rapidly at the poor guy next to her.

"Have you slayed any actual dragons? How many did you slay? What kind of dragons are there? What do they look like? Are there any nice ones? Do they all live in caves with treasure hoards? Can they talk? Are they all able to breath fire? Can they fly? How many have you seen? Are there lots of dragons? What do they eat? Can they use…" she stops as a hand covers her mouth. Wide-eyed, she meets the amused look of Natsu.

He takes his hand off of her mouth and says, "Breathe." She nods and takes in a breath looking sheepish.

She scratches one of her reddening cheeks in embarrassment before saying much slower, "Sorry. I just love dragons and learning about them. I get really fired up about the subject and I get a bit ahead of myself in the excitement in learning about them."

Natsu just chuckles and pats her on the head. "Its ok. Dragons get me fired up too." he says with a closed eyed grin.

"Great, now we got two dragon obsessed freaks." mutters Gray.

"What was that ice-prick?! Shouts out a now irritated Natsu as he whips his head around to glare at his rival.

"You heard me flame-brain." Gray retorts before popping a piece of food in his mouth.

"You just shut your trap snow cone!", is the reply from the easily irritated fire mage.

"Boys!" says Erza forcefully. Fearful of her wrath, they immediately shut up and start eating their food. Also going back to her food, Krysti becomes lost in thought as she eats. The table is silent as everyone finishes up their meals although Lucy does flag down the waiter to get a new drink. Erza, being the first one done, signals for the bill and patiently waits for the others to finish. Soon enough, the only ones still eating are Krysti and Natsu who both seem to have large appetites. The bill shows up soon after and Erza pays for it with a quiet compliment on the service and apology for the noise.

"So Krysti…" she opens, catching the brunette's attention. "We learned a lot of your world and yourself, do you have any more questions for us?" Still chewing, Krysti nods and looks thoughtful as she finishes up her current mouthful.

"Yea, I was wondering, what all kinds of magic is there? I know that fire is one of them." she says pointing towards Natsu.

Smiling softly, Erza answers, "There is in essence, many types of magic in the world. The true amount remains unknown. It is almost basically if you can imagine it, there can be magic of it." Krysti's eyes shine in delight.

"If I can imagine it…" she says softly to herself. Coming out of her reverie, she then asks, "Can anyone learn magic?"

Erza nods her head, "If you have the power to believe in your heart that you can learn magic, then you can learn." The grin on the brunette's face was a sight to behold.

"Oh, I would love to learn how to do magic! Can I start now? What do I need to do first?" she asks as her eyes twinkle in excitement.

Letting out a small chuckle, Erza holds up one hand to signal the brunette to calm down. "If you want to learn magic, it would be best if we get back to the guild. And before that, we should get some sleep." Erza says warmly.

Pouting, Krysti crosses her arms over her chest with a huff causing the others to laugh at her reaction.

* * *

The group arrives at an inn later that night ready to call it quits for the night. Well, all except for the two dragon crazed friends. For almost the whole trip through town, Krysti and Natsu chattered non-stop about the subject of dragons. They hung toward the back of the group, not really paying attention to anything else around them. Lucy carried a sleeping Happy in her arms as the blue cat was tuckered out due to his fish feast. After a quiet conversation with the clerk, Erza heads back to inform the group of their room situation which silences the two chatterboxes.

"Unfortunately due to an upcoming event here in town, there is only one room left with two beds, so we all are sharing. The manager is kind enough to bring up an extra bed so we aren't completely cramped. But we still need to figure out sleeping arrangements for us so…." Erza stops her monologue at the sight of Krysti raising her hand to call attention to herself.

"I call the floor!" she says cheerfully. Erza and Lucy both look at her aghast at the notion. The boys just look stunned.

"W-wait a minute, Krysti! There is no need for you to…" stammers out Lucy before getting cut off in mid-sentence.

"Yes there is. Unless they are king or queen sized, which I doubt, then they won't be big enough for all of us. This way, everyone can have a bed. Its easier because I know that it would be a disaster if we try to force the guys to share a bed." Krysti then looks down at her feet and holds her hands behind her back.

"Anyways, some of this is my fault because you guys had to take time to deal with me." she said bashfully. She looks up and then stands up straight while putting her hands on her hips. "So I insist that I be the one to take the floor while you guys sleep in the beds. If for nothing else, as a small part to pay you all back for the kindness and friendship you have shown me." she ends in a tone that brooks no argument.

"But…" Lucy starts to protest.

"No buts. If I have to, I will just leave the inn and sleep outside." Krysti states firmly, not changing her tone.

Erza smiles at the brunette, before saying, "If you insist, then we will have to respect your wishes."

The blonde girl pouts, unhappy with the situation. The two boys can't believe their luck that they don't have to fight for or share a bed. Erza silently starts walking down a hallway, signaling to the rest of the group that it is time to get to their room. When they open the door a large whoosh of cold air hits them which causes Lucy and Krysti to shiver. They find the room to be a bit, small.

Not very furnished, it boasts of a stone floor and stone walls, a single nightstand, a small bathroom, and a small window. A ball of glowing crystal lights the room with a yellow light. And two twin sized beds. Not to mention that the room is much colder than it should be for being such a warm day. Lucy sets Happy down on the end of one of the beds before going through her luggage. Settling in, the two younger girls get their stuff together to use the bathroom.

"Krysti, aren't you going to join us?" Erza asks curiously as she realizes that the brunette hasn't made a move in their direction.

Shifting around nervously Krysti replies, "Um, that's ok. It will probably be cramped if I go in as well. I'll let you two and the guys go ahead of me. That and I wanna keep talking to Natsu." Gray snorts in amusement at that last sentence and waves away the curious looks as everyone looks in his direction.

He walks over to one of the beds and sits on it while leaning against the wall with his eyes closed. Natsu and Krysti sit together on the other bed and rekindle their earlier conversation, just in quieter voices. While the girls were in the bathroom, a knock on the door is heard. Natsu quickly leaps off the bed to open the door. Outside is the innkeeper with some helpers bringing in the 3rd bed. They finish setting it up just as the girls exit the bathroom all cleaned up and ready for bed. Erza thanks the innkeeper and helpers before they exit and the red-head closes the door behind them. It's a ¾ bed, so it won't be uncomfortable for them to share.

"Gray." is all Erza says, and knowing what she means, he quickly gets up to take his turn in the bathroom. The brunette and pinket pick up their conversation from before the 3rd bed arrived. The girls get their stuff settled by the bigger bed and start up their own chat. An occasional raised voice from the two dragon enthusiasts catches the girls' attention from their own talk of different fashions and favorite sweets. After a while, Gray pops out of the bathroom with his hair still wet and clad only in a pair of boxers. The brunette gapes at him but doesn't say anything when no one else seems to notice or care. Natsu then gets up to take his turn, knowing if he doesn't then a certain red-head will toss him into the shower.

Krysti lets her eyes wonder around, thinking about what to do to pass the time when they land on the nearly naked guy on the other bed. So she decides to start up a conversation with him.

"Hey, Gray." she starts, trying to get his attention as he seems lost in thought.

"Huh?" he says as he gets taken out of his thoughts. He looks over to see the large woman looking at him intently.

"I never got around to asking, but what kind of magic do you have?" she asks nicely. He brings his hands together with a smack and a large snowflake is in his hand. She looks at it in awe and with a smirk he tosses it at her without warning. "Ack!" she exclaims before catching the object.

"Oh! Its ice! So you're an ice wizard." she observes.

"Yep. That's my magic. And I'm pretty good at it too if I say so myself." he says, feeling proud in his abilities.

"I'll say, the detail on this snowflake is beautiful!" she says in awe, which causes a slight blush to start on his cheeks.

"Um, thanks." he says sheepishly.

"Can I see the snowflake?" asks Lucy from across the room. Krysti looks at Gray and he nods. Getting off the bed, Krysti walks over to the other two females, not wanting to throw and possibly break the fragile looking flake.

"Wow! This is beautiful! You did such a good job with this Gray." Lucy sang her praise which caused the blush on Gray's face to deepen.

"Yes, excellent work." states Erza as she also looks at the ice. Gray turns his head away from the group of girls.

Looking towards the bathroom Krysti says softly, "I wonder if you can do things like this with fire?"

Scoffing Lucy just says, "The only thing that idiot has been able to make with his fire is a big mess."

"Huh? What do you mean a big mess?" the larger woman questions the blonde.

Lucy continues, "Yea, that hothead is always causing trouble. Getting into fights with everyone and doesn't know how to hold back. He destroys things around him when he fights. He can take out buildings with one punch if he is riled up enough."

"Take out an entire building? With _one _punch?" Krysti asks incredulously.

"Flame-brain has caused more trouble with all the damage he causes." Gray adds from across the room.

Lucy nods in agreement. "Yea, in fact when Natsu and I met in this very town. We got caught up in some shady business and he ended up destroying part of the town."

She looks at Lucy askance. "So his magic is that powerful that he can destroy a part of a town and it isn't even on purpose?" Krysti asks. When she gets the nods affirming what she said is true, she gets an odd look in her eyes. "Wow, its must be wonderful to have that kind of power under your control…" she says almost dreamily. The bathroom door slams open, startling the group and waking up Happy.

He says sleepily, "Huh? What's going on? I was having a nice dream about fish…" he trails off, going back to sleep. Natsu is walking out, with fire coating his body to dry off his clothes and hair. Smiling like he doesn't have a care in the world, he flops onto the bed he is sharing with Happy. At this, Krysti gets up to take her turn at a shower. Closing the poor abused door gently, she goes through the motions of seeing what is left from all the showers. Opening each cabinet, she finds there are no dry towels left at all and very little in the way of soap. Even the shampoo is all used up. Sighing in slight disappointment, the brunette takes out her iPod and sets it on a dry part of the sink before taking off her clothes and earrings.

Seeing what looks to be normal plumbing that she would find at home, she steps in the shower and turns on the water. Icy cold water hits her body, almost causing her to shriek. Instead she just lets out a gasp and shivers. She turns the knobs which every way just to find out all the hot water is gone. So, in silence the female dragon enthusiast cleans herself the best she can in the icy cold water. After a few minutes, that seemed like hours to her, she finishes and stops the shower. Using the wet towels, she dries herself off as much as she can before slipping her clothes back on and reclaiming her possessions. Walking out of the bathroom, the light is out and everyone is in their bed, already going to sleep.

Still shivering, Krysti walks over to the wall with the small window and sets herself down to lay down. The cold stone floors of the colder than normal room do nothing to help her warm up, but she doesn't say anything to anyone in an attempt to not be anymore of a burden. Settling down into the most comfortable position for her to sleep, she closes her eyes. Minutes tick by and the cold doesn't ease up. The larger woman bites her hand to keep her teeth from chattering. Time drags on, and the light of the moon goes slowly across the floor. Finally giving up on sleep she sits upright against the wall, still shivering away.

Trying to warm up on the really cold stone floor is futile despite the warm weather outside. She gently blows on her hands to try to warm them without waking her sleeping friends. Her eyes close shut in concentration as she curls up the best she can to preserve what warmth she still had. A bit later, a hand that feels almost searingly hot lands on her shoulder, causing her head to shoot up and opening her eyes wide. A dim figure is seen through the moonlight and it crouches down in front of her.

A soft familiar "Shush." is heard which identifies the person as Natsu. He grabs both of her cold hands in his warm ones, and pulls at her to stand up. Silently wondering what is going on, she lets him pull her up. Letting go of one hand he leads her across the room towards the beds.

Still silent, he pushes Krysti down to sit then lay back on the bed. She was so cold, that she complied without complaint. The warm bed already starting to work the cold out of the brunette's body. A weight on the other side of the bed lets her know that Natsu is now laying beside her. She turns on her side to face away from him and scoots towards the edge to give him as much room as she can before his arm stops her. It drags her to the middle where Krysti's back meets with his chest. Using his inner fire, the dragon slayer raises his body temperature to warm her up faster. She lets out a small "mmm" of pleasure at the flare of heat after being so cold.

Krysti whispers a quiet, "So warm." before falling asleep thanks to the dragon slayer behind her. He pulls the sheet over them before settling in to finally get to sleep when he couldn't stand hearing the brunette shiver on the floor anymore. Unbeknownst to either the brunette or dragon slayer, the other three people smile at what happened before they too go to sleep.

* * *

Slowly, I wake up feeling incredibly comfortable and deliciously warm. I let out a small hum in pleasure before I snuggle back into my pillow, prepared to go back to sleep. Something tightens around my stomach which causes me to wake up instantly. Without opening my eyes, I try to take stock of my situation. _Ok Krysti, what was the last thing you remember? Ummm, cold. That's right. I was cold out of my freaking mind on the floor. Something warm then got me. Hmm. Something warm was holding my hands, and then umm, I got pushed on something soft. Must be what I am on now. Then something really, really warm got next to me._

As if to confirm my thoughts, I hear a familiar low groan right by my ear and everything clicks into place. _Ah, ok. So I guess Natsu took pity on me and brought me to the bed and used his fire to warm me up. Well if dragon-boy is willing to share, who am I to say no. _I smile to myself and take a deep breath to relax back into sleep. Well, that is I was until I hear a small cough followed by a giggle nearby. I crack my eye open to the blurry image of three forms standing nearby. I close my eye again to ignore them and get back to my precious sleep. I hear a slightly louder cough and I frown in annoyance. I open my eye again and I can make out Gray, Erza, Lucy, and Happy watching me from the other twin bed.

"Hello sleepyhead." says a way too perky Lucy. I grumble at them, lift my hand to flip them off and then pull the sheet over my head. A delighted cackle sounds off in the room. _Why won't they let me sleep. Its so warm and comfy. _Sinking back into sleep, I get startled awake by the sheet getting yanked off of me. I hear Natsu start grumbling in my ear as he tugs me closer to him. Before I can say or do anything else, I feel my legs getting jerked and I get pulled out of his hold. I let out a small scream as I fly and land roughly on the floor. I hear a yell and thud from the other side of the bed. I look up into the faces of Lucy and Erza as they each held one of my legs.

"What the hell!" Natsu and I both yell out to our friends.

Letting go of my legs, Lucy smirks at me as Erza answers, "Well, we need to be leaving now if we are going to make it to the train in time. You two refused to wake up normally. So…" she trails off. I glare and I hear Natsu curse.

Gray adds, "Plus, it was more fun for us this way." I grumble at them while trying to pick myself off of the floor. _Lowdown bastards. They didn't have to be so rough. I am soooo going to pay them back for this. _As I stand up, I rub my aching backside from where I landed. I give each one of them an evil glare which they don't seem concerned about. _Oh I am so going to get revenge._ Now awake and standing, I stretch my body while it makes all sorts of cracks and pops. First my neck, then my upper back, my arms and fingers, then I work on down to my lower back, knees and calves. Limbered up, I feel better and energized.

Looking over, I see Natsu is also working out the kinks while glaring at Gray with a promise of death. _Hmm, I should team up with Natsu for our revenge. Oh, and how sweet it will be. _I silently promise myself.


	4. Chapter 4

Last time:

_ Looking over, I see Natsu also working out the kinks while glaring at Gray with a promise of death. _Hmm, I should team up with Natsu for our revenge. Oh, and how sweet it will be. _I silently promise myself._

* * *

The walk to the train station was much quieter than the one to the inn last night. Unless you want to count Happy making Lucy mad yet again and causing her to fruitlessly chase him down to try to get revenge. Natsu and I are still mad at our friends for the rude wake up call this morning. We walk side-by-side while trailing behind the others in sullen silence and I use this time to plot different ways to get even. As our group nears the station, I notice that Natsu's mood changes rather quickly from being frustrated to becoming quite nervous.

Turning my head to face him, I note that he is starting to sweat from nerves before I ask in quiet concern, "What's wrong, Natsu?"

He replies just as quietly, "Worried about being on the train. Its makes my motion sickness act up a lot." he then flinches before adding, "That and I'm hoping Erza won't punch me again."

My anger flares up and I snarl quietly in response as I glare at the back of Erza's head, "She won't if she knows what's good for her."

Almost stumbling from my barely veiled threat, he turns toward me with incredulous surprise, "You're serious?"

I glance in his direction before redirecting my glare back at Erza before replying in a tight voice, "Of course I am. I will not let her or anyone else hurt someone I care about undeservedly. As you said, 'family takes care of its own'." I then let my look soften along with my tone as I turn to face the dragon-slayer beside me, "I'm sorry that we don't have enough time to make you any ginger tea, or at least buy you a root to help out with that motion sickness. I promise to make sure to have lots on hand for the next time. I'll also check out herbal shops for other things that can help."

A look of cautious hope appears as he asks tremulously, "So there really are ways to help my motion sickness go away? You weren't just saying that?"

Feeling surprised, I answer back quickly, "Of course there is! Why would I lie about something like that?" He shrugs while looking embarrassed yet excited at the same time.

"Well, its just no one really stood up for me the way you did. And especially against Erza!" He lets out a small laugh and smiles at me widely in admiration. "No one, and I mean no one has ever stood up to her before like that and _won!_ You're like my hero!" With that, he attacks me with a hug that almost knocks the both of us down. Yelping at the unexpected display of affection, we stumble a bit before getting our balance back. I chuckle heartily and pat his arm in an awkward manner since his hug is pining down my upper arms.

"I just said what should have been said a long while ago." I say, trying to pass it off as nothing special. He releases me out of the hug and smiles the widest I seen yet.

"Well it means a whole lot to me, so thank you!" he exclaims happily. I laugh happily, enjoying his obvious glee.

"Well don't thank me yet, we still have to see if those remedies even work for you." I chirp in merriment. Without realizing it, we reached the train station and Erza has already gone off to get tickets. We walk up to where Gray, Happy, and Lucy are waiting and they smirk over at us.

"Hey dragon-freaks, what are you two chattering about?" asks Gray in a tone and a grin that would set off Natsu's temper.

Not wanting to deal with a fight between the two, I step in front of Natsu to face Gray and Lucy. "Oh nothing much, the weather, how the local sports teams are doing, different herbal remedies to help ease his stomach…" I say casually at first, then I pin the other two with a hard glare before I continue in a deeper voice, "different ways to get unholy revenge for interrupting one of the best night's sleep I ever had." My threat has the desired effect as it causes Lucy and Gray to gulp loudly and huddle together in fear. Still close behind me, I can almost feel Natsu and Happy shivering as well. _Hmm, not quite fearful enough yet. Need to add a little bit more to make sure this sticks. _

I slowly allow a malicious grin to form before continuing in a gruff tone, "Yes, expect retribution. Soon."

Then with a twist of my feet that I learned from a jazz dance class I took what seems like a lifetime ago, I turn away from the unlucky duo. I tilt my head at Natsu to see that he is looking at me with wide, fearful eyes. The expression on Happy's face mirrors the dragon slayer's. I give them a pleased grin with a wink to clue them in that I wasn't being serious. Looking ahead I see a wonderful sight, a nearby empty bench to rest my achy feet. Taking large strides, I quickly take a seat to wait for Erza and the tickets.

I hear a soft, wobbly voice say behind me, "Too scary…" which causes me to smirk to myself. _Maybe that will teach them for yanking me out of bed. Unless they do something else, I think the threat of revenge will be enough for now. Although I do have to teach Erza a lesson and intimidation doesn't seem like it will work on her. _I sit down with a sigh of relief as the pressure on my feet subsides. _Damn stone roads. I seriously need shoes._

I twist a bit until I'm sitting on the bench at an angle and I place one of my legs on top of the bench in front of me. Leaning forward with my leg bent, I use both of my hands to start massaging the ache out of my foot and an unexpected small stab of pain causes me to hiss quietly in surprise, more than in pain, to myself. I continue to rub my foot, taking the stabs of pain in stride now that I'm expecting it when I feel a thump on the bench. An upwards glance from where I'm bent over, shows that it's Natsu looking at me with concern.

"What's wrong? I heard you hiss in pain." he asks with some worry.

I let go of my foot as I straighten my back in surprise. My eyes widen with the shock before I exclaim loudly, "You heard that?!"

His concerned look melts away and is replaced by a sheepish smile before answering, "Yea, I have good ears to go with the nose."

I raise an eyebrow and ask drily, "Is there any other senses that you have that are good I should know about?"

He scratches his head as he thinks it over. "Um, eyes I guess." he answers after a couple of moments. I give him a light grin.

"What, no taste or touch?" I ask in a teasing tone.

He shrugs like it is of no importance. "Dunno, never really compared those." I shake my head a bit and laugh partly in disbelief at this man sitting next to me. Before I can make a witty retort, a metal clad hand clamps down on both of our shoulders. Natsu stiffens in apprehension, while I calmly look back to see Erza staring down at us.

"I got the tickets, we can board now." she states matter-of-factly before releasing our shoulders from her firm grip.

"Ok." I reply blandly before standing up with a small wince of pain and with that, Erza marches off towards the train. I rub the shoulder that Erza grabbed, silently appreciating the strength in her grasp and understanding more now why the others are fearful of angering her. I turn to see that Happy, Lucy, and Gray are already heading towards one of the cars of the train before I move to follow.

Behind me, I hear Natsu say a bit smugly, "So last night was one of the best night's sleep you ever had, huh?" I narrow my eyes and smirk as a golden teasing opportunity presents itself. Turning swiftly to look up into his eyes through my eyelashes, I lean towards him and place my hand lightly on the center of his chest.

"Yes, but it could have been _much better_." I purr out at him and end with a wink. His eyes widen as his cheeks blaze up a bright tomato red. I smirk and laugh at his embarrassment before grabbing his ever-present scarf and tugging on it. Turning around, I start waking towards the train with him in tow. "Come on, dragon-boy. We got a train to catch." I laugh over my shoulder while dragging him after me.

In the train, Natsu forgets what I said outside as he starts getting very nervous while we are taking our seats. No longer in a teasing mood, I sit next to him prepared to do what I can to ease his motion sickness, since I know what he is in store for. _And to keep Erza's paws off of him. No one is going to hurt one of my patients while I'm around. _I growl in my mind. We get a seat to ourselves a couple of sections away from the others since Gray, Erza, Lucy, and Happy already took over one section of seats and adding the two of us would make it too couldn't take a section next to them since those were already taken.

I glance over to see how Natsu is holding up and I'm distressed at what I find. _Oh dear, the train hasn't even moved yet and he is already looking pale. _I wrap my arm around his shoulders, and have him lean towards me as I start rubbing circles along his back. He sighs, and relaxes somewhat under my care. Happy, who has been strangely quiet all morning, flies over to sit in front of us.

He gives us that odd intense look again before saying, "You lllllike each other."

Natsu protests at Happy's statement while I shrug and say, "And?"

That causes the blue cat to get a weirdly happy look on his face and he starts having a giggling fit. Quick as a flash, he flies over to the others and starts talking with a hushed tone to where I couldn't make out what he is saying.

Natsu slumps in my grasp before whining, "Why did you say that? Now he will tell everyone we like each other and won't stop teasing about it!" I let go of his shoulders and turn in my seat so I can face him better with less strain on my neck.

"Well, don't we?" I ask him very seriously. He turns to face me in surprise at my question. "I mean despite the fact that we met yesterday and hardly know each other, we already accepted each other as more than friends, we're family. Doesn't that mean that we at least like each other to do so?" His mouths gapes open and closed like a fish before he can speak.

"That's not what I meant, of course I like you like that. Wouldn't think of you as family otherwise." he says almost indignant that I would imply otherwise. I interrupt what he is going to say next.

"Then what's the problem with Happy telling other people we like each other? I mean its not like he is spreading rumors that we are in a romantic relationship or other such things. Let other people think what they will. As long as we know how we stand with each other, that's what is important, isn't it?" A thoughtful expression appears on his face as he ponders over my words. He nods slowly to himself and I continue speaking. "Its usually better to just go with the flow when people try to tease you like that. They do it mainly for the reactions. If you don't react, they will stop usually after a while. I should know, I'm one of the teasers."

I wink and grin at the end, causing him to scoff and grin back. The train jerks into motion and his face turns almost ghost white. I make Natsu lay down on his side in the seat, with him facing the other seat of our section. I lean over to start rubbing his back, but stop as he starts to squirm. He moves around until his arms and head are in my lap as he lays flat on his stomach. No longer squirming, I start rubbing small circles into his back again.

I hear him groan out happily, "That feels better already. I don't feel like I'm going to puke right away."

I chuckle before saying, "That's good to hear. Heh, that's all I need now on my clothes is puke stains to go with the rest." He just groans again as a reply.

"Hush now, I'll help you get through this. If you can, try to go to sleep again. I'll be here for you. We can keep talking after we get off the train." I say to him softly before starting to hum. Natsu nods his head and sighs softly, relaxing his body. Soon enough, I feel his breathing even out like he is falling asleep. I stop rubbing his back after a few more minutes to give him time to fully go to sleep. Looking down at Natsu, I give a gentle smile. _I'm glad he is feeling well enough to sleep. I don't like watching him suffer like this. Hopefully, the ginger tea will work for him._

I look out the window to watch the scenery go by in peaceful silence. Or so it was for what seems to be about an hour. A nearby thump pulls me out of my daydreams. Startled, I turn to look to see Erza sitting in front of me studying Natsu. I raise an eyebrow in question. She smiles slightly at him before looking up at me.

"I don't think I ever seen him look so peaceful on any sort of transportation before." she states with a warm tone of sisterly affection. I look down and notice that my hand is gently going through his hair. _Huh? How long have I been doing that? Oh well, not like its bothering him. _"You seem to be doing a lot of good for him." she continues in the same warm, sisterly tone.

"Well, I don't like to see anyone suffer if I can help it. And now that we are family, even more so." I tell her just as quietly. She shakes her head in disagreement.

"No, I mean more than that. He seems different around you." she firmly states.

I shrug before answering, "Well, I have been doing what I can to ease his motion sickness that no one else has tried to help him with besides giving him a punch in the gut. I'm pretty sure that would cause anyone to act differently." Erza flinches and looks down in guilt when I mention her previous method of taking care of the motion-sick dragon slayer. As I look back down at him I smile softly.

"That and there is just something about him that makes me want to take care of him, ya know? Its weird, I mean we just met yesterday and already I feel fiercely loyal to all five of ya'll. Like I'm willing to do everything I can to keep ya'll from harm. You guys are already like the annoying little brothers and sisters I never had." Until the words left my mouth, I didn't realize the extent of my affections for the group. _Huh, I guess I didn't know it until I said it, but yea. I do want to care and protect them all._

"You don't have siblings?" she asks me curiously.

"Nope, single kid all the way. So in a way, even though I miss my mom and dad to bits, it's… not as lonely with you guys around." I confess to Erza before looking back out the window.

Still using that soft voice, I hear her say, "Well I'm happy that you consider us family despite the short amount of time we spent together. I know that I consider you a part of the family as well. I also know the rest of the guild will quickly accept you as one of us."

My heart warms at her kind words and I turn back to look at her with a small smile as I ask quietly, "What is Fairy Tail like?"

She smiles a little wider and a look of true content appears in her eyes as the red-head answers. "Home. That is what Fairy Tail is like. For people who lost something dear to them, or is going through rough times, Fairy Tail is the home where we accept everyone on equal terms. If you are happy, they are happy. If you are sad, then they will share their tears with you. If you are hurt, they will do whatever it takes to protect you until the end. It's family, it's love, it is home. That is Fairy Tail." I look at her in awe as she describes it. Unbidden, my eyes tear up in response as what she says strike a chord deep inside of me.

I whisper out, "It sounds like a wonderful place to be."

She nods before saying warmly, "It is. There is no other place like it and no other place where I want to be." I hear a low, muffled groan and look down at my lap to see Natsu starting to move. He digs an elbow in my thigh, which causes me to wince, before he settles down again. This time with him facing my stomach and slightly curled up on his side. A feeling of warmth and happiness grows in my chest as I look down at his peaceful face. Without thinking, I move his hair out of his face before slowly running my fingers through his hair again. A wave of lightheartedness sweeps through me, leaving me feeling peaceful. I lazily look back up to Erza to see her watching us while looking quite pleased.

"So what does Fairy Tail do as a wizard's guild?" I ask her, feeling at peace.

"When people have problems that they believe magic can solve, they put out a formal request to the guilds. Then one of our teams, or a solitary person, can decide if they want to handle the job. They let the guild master, or whoever is in charge at the time, know that they want to accept the request before leaving. The guild then lets the person who made the request know that it is accepted before the team arrives, mostly. Then the team either completes or fail the mission, and get whatever reward that is being offered if they complete it. Then they return to the guild to rest or take on another mission." she explains.

"So is that what you guys are doing? Coming back from completing a mission?" I ask. The look she has in her eyes makes me sit up straight and I snap into full alertness, my earlier feelings of peace and content quickly draining away. I can't place what the look means, but it puts me on edge.

"In a way, yes and no." She pauses for a moment like she is unsure whether or not to continue and I gesture to her that it is okay for her to explain. She takes a deep breath before continuing in a low tone, "There are requests that we have that are extremely tough, called S-rank missions. Only mages who are of S-rank are allowed to take them, because doing so otherwise usually means death for the unprepared." I feel shivers going up my spine at this. "So anyone who tries to take one that isn't qualified for them are either punished or expelled from the guild. It is better for them to be out of the guild and alive than still a member of the guild and dead." Erza pauses and looks down at her clenched fists before starting up again. "In a reckless act to prove themselves, Natsu and Lucy stole an S-rank mission to complete on their own. Gray went to stop them, only to end up joining them as well. When they didn't return, I went out to find them and bring them back."

Her look of anger at their recklessness gives me an urge to wrap my arms around Natsu protectively as she continues, "They broke the rules, so I went to bring them back for their punishment. Unfortunately, when I found them the situation for the villagers was at a point that if I didn't step in to take part as well, everyone would of died. So, because of the dire situation and Gray's surprising determination to stop the problem despite me threatening them with on the spot death, I stepped in and allowed Gray and the others to do what they needed to do to complete the mission. The morning after, as we were going to leave, is when we found you."

Her look softens quite a bit as she looks up toward me. "I'm sorry that I had to knock you unconscious after we found you, but we didn't want anyone getting hurt more than necessary." I rub the back of my neck, remembering the pain.

"That's ok," I whisper gently, "I was so scared at the time, but I could only think about protecting y'all since it seemed like ya didn't know that the demons were behind you. Even if my world doesn't have demons, we still have stories about them. When I was little, I got scared badly by a demon horror movie and I had nightmares for weeks about it. Anything demonic scares me right to the core even to this day. That's why I was constantly trying to run away from them. That and you guys for a bit. When y'all held me back before I was knocked unconscious, I thought you guys were in cahoots."

She nods in understanding, "I see. So it stemmed from a childhood fear."

"Yea, its stupid. I know." I say feeling a bit depressed at my weakness and I hang my head in shame. Erza's voice is full of gentle reassurance as she tries to help me feel better.

"It is not stupid to have fear in something. It is stupid to let the fear take over and not face it head on." she explains simply.

I wince at that statement, knowing fully well that is exactly what I did. "That's what I let happen. I let me fear take over and I ran away." I snorted a little bit in slight amusement before I added, "Well, would of ran away if ya'll would of let me."

"No." she says curtly. The speed at which she answered brought my head up to face her in surprise. "That first time, you faced your fear by going to attack what you feared just to save a bunch of strangers. That was bravery. It was also brave of you to go to them on the beach. And the heartfelt apology you gave, even though none of us could understand your words, we all knew what you meant. That was facing your fears. That Krysti was true bravery." I laugh softly and blush in embarrassment at this before looking down at the sleeping guy in my lap. I start running my fingers through his hair again before I answer her.

"Actually, that was mainly thanks to Natsu here. I'm not sure why, but this hothead has this calming effect on me. If he wasn't the one stopping me each time I tried to run, and if he didn't stay by me as we got near the demo… the villagers, I would of fought a hell of a lot harder than I did. Either you would have to have to knock me unconscious again or tied me up real well." I end thoughtfully.

She chuckles softly in amusement, "I have almost an entire guild of people who will argue with you about the calming thing."

I giggle a little bit with her as I reply, "If they act the same way as he does with Gray, I can see that." Looking up at her, I let my smile fade as I ask a serious question. "So what's going to happen to them when they get back?"

Her expression hardens before she states stiffly, "I'm not able to say. They will be punished for breaking guild rules, be assured of that, but what the punishment will be is up to the Master."

I nod in understanding before looking back down at the sleeping face in my lap and allow myself to get lost in my thoughts. She and I spend the next few minutes in companionable silence before a question pops into my head.

"Hey, Erza?" I ask quietly, still mindful of the dozing dragon slayer. She looks at me in curiosity.

"Yes, Krysti? Something on your mind?" she asks. I nod.

"I was wondering, if you don't mind that is, but what type of magic do you have?" I politely ask.

She shakes her head with a small smile on her face while saying, "No, I don't mind sharing. It's called Re-quip, or Ex-quip depending on who you ask. My specialty is switching between different armors and weapons during battle to suit my needs. Like this." At this point her clothes start to glow. I gawk at the sight and I suck in a breath when I see her armor change into a light purple cloth kimono-like armor.

"Wow." is all I am able to say at this point, stunned at this display of magic.

"Yes, it suits my fighting style immensely. As a battle changes constantly, I can change my armor or weapons to fit the need." she adds confidently.

"So do you make the armor and stuff with your magic?" I ask her while leaning forward, just brimming with curiosity.

"No, they are stored in what you can call another dimension. When I have need, I just access it and switch out the armor." she says, clarifying this point.

"It's just like a video game inventory!" I exclaim excitedly, momentarily forgetting that is Natsu asleep until he starts to shift around in my lap and lets out a pained groan. I immediately start rubbing his back while humming again to help ease him back to sleep. He almost instantly calms down, but I continue doing this for a few minutes to make sure he is back to sleep. Letting out a small relieved sigh, I look back up to see Erza watching me with a small smile and a raised eyebrow.

I shrug nonchalantly at her amused expression and continued what I was saying earlier, only more quietly, "I get it, you have a basically unlimited size backpack full of stuff you don't have to actually carry around."

She nods, looking pleased. "I don't know what a video game is, but yes you are quite correct in the description." I lean back against the seat to relax better and idly play with Natsu's hair some more, happy that I hit the nail on the head.

"Hmm, so do you have any sort of limit on how much stuff you can hold?" I ask while tilting my head a bit in my curiosity.

She nods again before answering, "Yes, there is a limit. But like most magic, the more I use it, the more I am able to hold."

"That sounds like a very handy type of magic to know." I reply in a thoughtful manner.

She turns her head to look out the window, before answering, "Yes, it has helped out many times over the course of my life." I hum an agreement as I glance down at Natsu to check his condition. Another thump catches my attention and I see Lucy now sitting next to Erza with a smirk on her face.

"What's up?" I ask her cheerfully.

"I wanted to see how you and Natsu are doing over here." she says with a particular glint in her eye.

"He's doing okay. Been asleep for almost the entire trip. He hasn't been throwing up which is good for the state of my clothes." I quietly inform her with a small laugh at the end. The blonde shakes her head in amusement.

"That's good to hear, but that's not what I mean." she retorts mischievously while waving her index finger back and forth.

"What do you mean then?" I ask, unsure of where exactly she is going to take this.

"Well, Happy has been telling us some interesting things, and I just wanted to confirm it." she says a bit too innocently.

Feeling a little leery at this supposedly innocent question, I cautiously ask her, "What interesting things?"

"Oh nothing much, just things like how you are constantly staring at him while he is sleeping, or how you're not denying that you like him." she chirps with a smirk growing on her face. _So that's her game. A bit early in all respects to start up that line of questioning. Better play the naïve card for now._

I make sure that my expression looks puzzled as I answer Lucy with a tone to match, "Well, of course I like him. I like you guys as well or I wouldn't be here. And I'm not sure what you mean about how I keep staring at him."

Leaning forward, Lucy lowers her voice as if she is afraid someone will hear her. "Happy said it was on the ship. You barely took your eyes off of him the whole way." she replies. Erza, deciding not to take part in this particular conversation, gets up and goes to sit with Gray and Happy to let Lucy and me talk in privacy.

"Oh! That." I exclaim as in sudden realization. "Yea, I was watching him for most of the trip. But that was because I was keeping an eye out for any sign of changes in his condition. I had no idea at that time how long we would be at sea, or even how severe his motion sickness would be. So I was trying to help as much as I could to try to keep it from getting worse. If not treated properly, extreme motion sickness can be deadly if it lasts long enough." I explain.

Eyes wide, Lucy's face pales somewhat as concern replaces anything else she had planned. She looks down at the peacefully sleeping form of Natsu when she speaks barely above a whisper, "I had no idea that it could be that bad."

I nod before continuing, "It can be, but it does takes a few days before it starts getting to that point. That and if the person who is sick isn't taken care of. I didn't know how long we were to be at sea, so in case it was going to be longer than a day, I decided to take care of him so he wouldn't get in that critical of a condition. Especially since you guys didn't seem to care for his condition." I say that last sentence in a rough manner, my earlier anger starting to show up again. The younger girl flinches at my words.

"Yea, we were jerks, weren't we?" Lucy asks as she guiltily gazes down at her hands.

"Well, you already know my opinion of the subject." I retort in a flat tone and Lucy looks off to the side with a sad expression adorning her face. I look down to check on Natsu and a soothing calmness envelops me again as I watch his sleeping face. I turn my gaze to watch my hand as it constantly moves through his pink hair. _Pink huh? Such an odd color, but he makes it work for him. _I hear slight giggling coming from in front of me. I look up to see Lucy covering her mouth with her hand, her sadness now gone. I raise an eyebrow at her.

"What?" I ask curtly. She waves her hand in front of her face while looking away with an odd expression.

"Oh nothing." she says in a singsong voice. I look at her suspiciously. _What is her deal? I swear she is as bad as that cat. Maybe I should turn the tables on her._ I narrow my eyes at that thought.

Feeling wicked, I ask Lucy in a delightful manner, "So what about you? Hmm? Do you have a thing for dragon boy here?" She stiffens and whips her head around in surprise.

"What!?" she screeches as she lifts her arms up as if to ward off a physical attack. Mentally, I'm cackling worse than a witch from Lucy's priceless reaction. Natsu starts to squirm in my lap from Lucy's extremely loud screech.

I hiss out, "Shhhhh!" as I give her a fierce glare, and she slaps her hands over her mouth in response. Natsu yawns loudly and stretches his arms out.

"Are we there yet?" he asks sleepily. Still running my right hand through his hair in a soothing manner, I use my other hand to rub at his back again.

"Not yet. Just go back to sleep, ok?" I say softly. He nods with a quiet hum of agreement and snuggles closer to me by using his right arm to wrap around my waist. A small bubble of happiness wells up in my heart at his show of trust and my cheeks warm somewhat in response. He settles down and goes back to sleep after a few minutes. I look up at the blonde and give her a slight glare and Lucy by now is looking a bit sheepish.

"Sorry." she says softly. I give her a long hard look which causes her to squirm uncomfortably and I decide that I messed with her enough. I give her a big grin to show that all is well.

"No harm, no foul." I reply which causes her eyebrows to shoot up in question. "It's no problem" I reiterate and Lucy relaxes in her seat. "That is unless you want him to listen to us talk about him." I continue. Her cheeks turn almost as pink as his hair in response.

"No, I would rather not." she says rather quickly while looking down at her clenches hands. _Interesting reaction._

"So you _do_ have a thing for Pinky here?" I say to her as if I am just now realizing it. She looks up in alarm at this.

"No! I don't feel about him that way at all. We're friends. Family!" she protests in a quiet tone while waving her arms around frantically.

"Really? You seem to be protesting it a bit much if you don't have any romantic feelings for him." I retort with a wry grin and wicked delight for teasing her like this.

She blushes deeper and looks out the window before continuing, "Well, its not that I don't care about him. I do care, but I just see him more as the brother I never had. I just don't think of him as boyfriend material, he is too much of an inconsiderate goofball." I'm more than surprised at this. _Natsu? Inconsiderate? Really? I can see goofball, but the other?_

Now interested in hearing how this opinion came about, I question her. "What do you mean by inconsiderate? From what I can tell, he is very caring towards his friends, even though he likes to pick fights with Gray." She puffs out her cheeks in annoyance while crossing her arms across her body.

"He and that cat have been breaking into my house and not respecting my privacy at all." she says in quiet anger.

"Seriously?" I say incredulously, not quite believing her. I look down at the dragon slayer in my lap, reevaluating my thoughts about him.

"Definitely. That guy is dense and has no idea how to act like a gentleman. He has even been walking into the bathroom while I'm bathing without knocking." she huffs out. I frown in thought as I look at him. _That _is_ inconsiderate of him. But then again, he was raised by a dragon. They probably don't have the same manners as humans. If what Natsu says is right, and he really has been living in a house with just him and Happy all these years after coming to join Fairy Tail, it is possible he may not of been taught how to conduct himself properly._ I look up at Lucy at this point and voice my thoughts.

"Do you think maybe its perhaps due to the fact that he was raised by a dragon?" I ask her pointedly. She straightens up and a thoughtful look appears on her face.

"You know, that could be it." she says slowly with a frown on her face as she continues to think about it. Lucy turns her head to gaze out the window, looking like she is lost in thought. I chuckle lightly at her before returning my gaze to the scarf-wearing fire user in my lap. My eyes grow a bit heavy so I let them close slowly. I sigh, feeling at peace again and I drift off to sleep.

* * *

A sudden jostling wakes me up quickly. I blink a few times trying to make sense of what is happening before I remember that we are on a train heading to Fairy Tail. Looking around, I see my friends standing up already and grabbing their gear off the racks. Feeling movement on my lap, I look down to see Natsu starting to wake up as well. I grab his shoulder and shake him lightly to wake him up faster. He quickly sits upright with a loud yawn and a bone-cracking stretch. One side of his hair is flat from where he was laying on my lap, and the rest looks wilder than usual, most likely from how much I was playing with it. I giggle softly at the sight which has him turn to face me.

I giggle loudly at the sleepy grin he gives me before I cheerfully greet him, "Good morning Pinky, its seems we're at our stop."

Hearing this, he wakes up fully before gleefully shouting, "Alright! We're home!" Without looking, he reaches up to the luggage rack and grabs his pack. Letting it fall, he uses the momentum to swing it onto his shoulders in a fluid motion. Quickly, he steps out into the aisle of the train to get off. I stand up more slowly, before following Gray and Lucy off the train. Out of the windows, I see Erza exiting further down the train, tugging with her that wagon of luggage she carries. _How much stuff does she take with her if she has that Re-quip magic AND that wagon? Almost sounds like me when I play an Elder Scrolls game. I take everything and I mean EVERYTHING._

As I step clear of the crowd exiting the train behind me, I stretch to get the kinks out and pop my joints while waiting for everyone to group up. A few moments later, I finish with the stretches and after a quick decision, I walk over to where Natsu is to check up on him. He is almost hopping in excitement to be home and Happy is flying by his side looking almost as happy as his surrogate father.

"Hey Natsu, how do you feel? Were you able to sleep okay?" I ask him pleasantly as I near the excited duo while carefully checking the dragon slayer's reactions.

He grins at me in a joyful manner before exclaiming, "I feel wonderful! That was the absolute best experience riding the train, ever!" _Complexion seems normal, eyes seem like they are dilating normally, no sluggish movements._

Nodding in response, I question him some more, "And the sleep? Were you able to get any rest?"

At this question, he looks away before looking back at me so fast I might not of noticed it if I wasn't looking for a reaction. "A-ah yea. Slept like a baby through the whole thing." _Hmm, now seems to be a tad jumpy and nervous, and he is blushing. Something happened and he doesn't want to say. Most likely a dream, I won't ask about it. He will tell me if he wants me to know. _I close my eyes and give him the biggest smile I have.

"I'm glad that you had a good time on the train!" I very cheerfully reply before opening my eyes again. Looking at him, he turns his head to the side and starts chuckling a bit nervously. Ok_, now I'm curious. What is going through his head? _I hear snickering from nearby, and I looking down to see Happy pointing and laughing at Natsu. This causes him to blush more and I tilt my head in confusion. _Well, Happy sure knows what's going on…_

"Let's get back to the guild now everyone." calls out Erza and effectively breaking my train of thought. We all cry out a chorus of agreement as we go to leave the train station behind as a group. As we enter the streets properly my happiness falls somewhat. _Damn it, a stone road. Well, at least it isn't cobblestone this time. Hopefully the guild isn't too far away. _Continuing down the street at a normal pace my feet soon start getting stabbing pains again, causing me to start limping. Already trailing at the end, I slowly start falling further behind the others. Luckily for me, they are staying on the same street so even if I lag behind them, I won't get lost.

About what I guess to be halfway through town, I hear Natsu practically exploding with a loud, "We're back!" His arm is pumped into in the air in his excitement. I chuckle at the obvious exuberance he is displaying. _He really does love his home, doesn't he?_

"Back!" cries out Happy like he is a backup singer.

"But man… all that work, and one key is all we get?" Gray complains almost bitterly from in front of Erza.

Happy flies next to Gray and quickly adds, "And it was a full-blown S-rank quest, too."

"It wasn't a proper job. This much is about right." Erza says calmly.

Lucy adds cheerfully, "Yup! Yup! No complaints!"

Looking back at Lucy from where he is flying, Happy flatly tells her, "You're the only one it's of any use to, Lucy!" He pauses, then says, "Let's sell it!"

In surprise she blurts out, "You thieving cat!" Lucy recovers quickly and continues on in a lecturing tone, "Besides, there are only 12 of the gold "Zodiac" keys in the whole world! They're super-duper rare, see." _Gold zodiac keys? What the heck are those? Do they have something to do with her magic?_ Curiosity peaked, I shamble closer to the group to hear more about these keys.

Natsu looks over at Lucy with some weird grin on his face before asking, "That cow and maid?"

Sounding upset, Lucy snaps back, "As I progress, my spirits will get way stronger!" _Spirits? Cow and maid? Hmm, if it's the zodiac, the cow would probably be Taurus. But who would be the maid?_

Turning to look at her over his shoulder, Gray stops walking and asks, "So, what's the key we got this time?"

Sounding happier, Lucy replies while stopping as well, "The Archer, Sagittarius!" My eyes widen at that. _That's my Zodiac sign! _Almost behind the luggage wagon, I move up towards Lucy intending on asking her about it.

In surprise, Gray flips around to face Lucy and asks her, "Isn't that half-man, half-horse!?" You can almost see him picturing a guy with a horse head.

Turning partly away, Lucy says, "No, I think it's the other way around." This time I picture a proper centaur. Natsu just stares ahead and you just can't help but get the feeling that he is imagining something weird.

Getting the same vibe as me about what he is thinking, Lucy says, "That's not either a man or a horse..." I'm fully caught up with the group by now and I open my mouth to start asking about these spirits when I'm cut off by Erza.

"Easygoing, aren't we?" she says normally before stopping behind the rest of us. I pout at the change in subject. She continues more sternly, "You haven't forgotten that you'll be punished when we get back, have you?" The three younger mages look back at Erza in shock.

Looking scared, Natsu blurts out, "Punishment?" Then in unison, they turn around to face the red-head.

Lucy cries out in protest, "I thought we'd dropped that already!"

Still looking stern, Erza replies, "Don't be silly. Accepting your actions was a field decision on my part. You still must receive your punishment." They flinch in fear, while Happy looks terrified.

"Oh, no!" cries out Lucy.

Not pulling any blows, Erza continues, "I think you should be mostly forgiven for what happened this time. However, your judge will be the Master. And I have no intention of defending you. So be prepared to take your punishment."

"He's not gonna make us do _that_, is he?" wails out the flying blue cat in fear. _That?_

Absolutely terrified, Gray turns away from the group, clutching his head and cowering in fear before yelling, "Wait a sec! I never want to do _that_ again!"

Becoming more scared because of Gray's reaction, Lucy cries out, "What is _tha_t?" She starts shaking in terror. Even I'm feeling uneasy about this punishment, even though I'm not the one in trouble. Unlike his earlier reaction to the news, Natsu has a easygoing grin on his face as he addresses Lucy.

"Don't sweat it. We did a good job, so gramps'll be impressed!" he says cheerfully while patting Lucy's shoulder in reassurance.

She gives him a disbelieving look before saying, "How frightfully positive of you…"

Erza cuts in with, "No, I think its pretty much decided already. I look forward to it." she looks back at them with an almost mischievous smile on her face. Natsu tries keeping his grin in place, but it turns forced and you can literally see the sweat starting to drip off of him which causes Lucy to start freaking out again. Before I could register that he even moved, he was already past me and almost past Erza. _So fast…_ Turning to look, I see that she caught him by the scarf that I have yet to see him take off. Falling on his butt from the force of the sudden stop, he seems dazed for just a second.

"NOOOOO! Not _that_! Anything but _that_! Nooo!" he cries out in pure terror as Erza starts dragging him down the street, her luggage forgotten. My heart went out to him from the pure abject terror of his face, but I didn't do anything to help. Erza already explained to me that they broke the rules and needed to face the consequences. And if its one thing I am, it's a stickler for rules. Gray is quivering in terror on the ground, not moving an inch.

Lucy shouts up to the world, "Like I said, what the heck is _that_?!" I feel sad because I want to help them, but I know I can't. They broke the rules and need to learn a lesson. _But at least I can maybe try to help ease their fear. _I walk over to Gray and put a comforting hand on his shoulder. He flinches at first. _Thinks I'm Erza, I guess._

"Hey, Gray." I say to him softly. He relaxes under my hand when he realizes it isn't Erza.

"Hey, Krysti." he says in pure relief. I crouch down to look him in the eyes.

"Try not to think about it okay? The more you do, the worse it will be on you. Its better if you go in with happy thoughts then get the punishment, than going in dreading it the whole time." I say trying to cheer him up. His shudders calm down somewhat before he turns to look at me.

"Thanks for trying to help me feel better. It does help some." he says with a tremulous smile. I smile back before standing up and reaching out with my hand to help him up. His cold hand grasps mine, and with a heave I pull him up. I see over his shoulder that Lucy is still trembling in fear, so I go to try to get her moving as well.

"Hey Lucy, it will be ok." I start off calmly.

"How can you say that? You're not the one getting punished!" she wails.

I shake my head before responding, "You don't know that." In confusion, she stops and stares at me. "You don't know what is going to happen, and I don't know the rules and what happens when they are broken. Who knows, I may get punished even worse because I delayed you guys from getting here as soon as you could."

"But that's not fair!" she protests. "You didn't have anything to do with it! Nothing should happen to you!"

I look her straight in the eyes and ask, "How do you know? Are you that certain? Depending on how the Master is, I could be in for it as well." No longer scared, she gets a determined glint in her eye. _That's what I'm looking for. _

"No, you shouldn't get punished. You did nothing wrong. And if the Master tries, I will do everything in my power to stop him!" she says forcefully.

Gray walks up to us and adds, "The same here, I'll help make sure he doesn't do anything to you." _Good, now both of them are no longer scared. Too bad Natsu is being dragged by Erza, or I could try to calm him down as well._

I smile at the both of them, "Then let's get back to the guild. The sooner, the better." They nod in agreement and start walking off. I take two steps before looking back at Erza's wagon. I look ahead and see that she isn't stopping to come back for it. _Guess she forgot about it. Well, time to get some use out of me. _I reach down to grab the rope handle with one hand and I give it a tug. It doesn't move. I grab it with both hands, and I pull. It moves, somewhat. Letting go of the handle with one hand, I turn until the other one still holding the rope is behind my back.

Taking the rope back into both hands, I dig in my feet despite their protests and start pulling. I had to rock it a couple of times, but I got it moving. Once it started to move, it was easier and I slowly followed my friends who are now a fair ways ahead of me. Lucy glances back behind her a couple of minutes later and stops walking, shock written all over her face. Gray stops to look behind as well when he notices Lucy stopping. He looks at me with a stunned expression.

I say nothing to them as I concentrate on pulling the wagon. _Now I have a better idea on why they are scared of her. She is strong if she can pull this easily with one hand. _Almost unnoticed by me, Gray and Lucy look at each other and nod before walking back towards the wagon. Within seconds of them passing me, the load suddenly lightens. I look behind me on both sides to see them smile at me while they help push the wagon. I smile and nod at them both in thanks before looking ahead and planning on catching up to Erza and Natsu.

* * *

When we finally catch up to Erza and Natsu, as they were standing by a gate that was in front of this big 3 story building that had a look of a small castle. _So they are definitely going with the fairy tale theme it seems. _On an arch above the gate were giant letters spelling out Fairy Tail. _Ohhh, so its tail as in an actual tail, not a story tale. _

"Thank you for bringing my luggage you three. I would have retrieved it later." gratefully says Erza.

"Well, I didn't want to risk anything getting stolen." I tell her truthfully. She nods and then turns to open the gate. Walking up to the front of the building, I start feeling a bit nervous. _What is this place like? Will they accept me as easily as these guys? What if I'm not allowed to stay with them. _The thought that I might be kept away from my new family, causes fear to clutch at my heart. They enter the guild without a second thought as I stand outside those saloon doors. I hear cheering and welcoming shouts from those inside. I take deep breaths to try to calm my rapidly beating heart.

One of the doors swings open towards me and I step back to not get hit. Natsu is standing in the doorway, looking at me with a curious expression. I smile at him and already I start calming down a bit.

"What are you doing just standing out here? Come on, everyone is waiting for you." he says with a big grin before grabbing my wrist to drag me inside. As I'm pulled in, I'm greeted by the sight of what looks like a large tavern with tables and benches strewn about. Looking a bit empty, there are a few guys and fewer girls inside. I see Erza and the rest standing before a lovely young, white-haired girl. _Is this the Master?_ I hear whispers starting up within the guildhall as I'm brought up toward the others all the while still being dragged by Natsu. Looking around shows me that the people inside are mainly staring right at me. Becoming extremely nervous, I give them a small smile and a wave.

"Where is the Master?!" shouts out Erza, which causes me to almost jump out of my skin. That is the loudest I ever heard her speak since we met. _Well, that answers that question. _An older gentleman with dark, slicked back hair and a giant metal S necklace steps up to answer.

"He had some kind of council something-or-other meeting, or whatever…He's been gone since yesterday." he answers in a bored fashion. All my friends but Erza release a sigh of relief from hearing that.

Natsu cries out joyfully with a big grin, "We're safe for now!"

"All right! None of that until gramps gets back!" adds a pumped up Gray.

Happy jumps off the ground with tears of joy running down his face. "Thank goodness! We can put off staring into the gates of hell for a while longer!" he shouts out joyfully.

Lucy starts pulling at her hair in fright, "Tell me what _it_ is already! I wanna know so bad! It's freaking me out! It's even scarier when I don't know what _it_ is!" she demands.

"Be quiet!" Erza yells in an irritated bark without looking behind her. Frightened, the other 4 of our group jumps to huddle behind me which completely catches me off guard.

"What the…!?" I exclaim in surprise as I turn my head to look at the shivering forms right behind me. _So now I'm being used as a shield?_

Still in a stern voice, but with a lower volume, Erza continues with her questioning, "When will the Master return?"

The white haired girl gives Erza a worried look, "It shouldn't be long now…" With a quick spin, Erza turns to address the huddled mass behind me.

"When the Master returns, I will immediately ask for his decision. Going on an S-class quest without permission is against the rules, period. Be prepared for the consequences." she intones with finality. This causes them to become even more scared. Next thing I know, multiple arms are wrapped around my waist causing me to yelp in shock and everyone is shaking madly.

"And what consequences should I be prepared for, exactly!?" wails out a terrified blonde. I look down at their shaking bodies, and a wave of protectiveness takes over. _I'll help them through this, one way or another._ Finalizing my decision before I second guess myself, I look over into the hard eyes of Erza and lock gazes with her.

Standing as tall as I can, I firmly tell her in an unwavering voice, "Then include me in their punishment as well." The trembling behind me stops as I continue speaking. "They were not here to receive their punishment for breaking the rules as soon as they should have because of me. I am not asking for any leniency for them or for you to defend them. I simply wish to join them in their punishment." At this, silence sweeps through the tavern.

"What are you doing?" a voice from behind me questions in a hissed out whisper. Erza shakes her head in disagreement.

"No. I cannot allow you to join them since you are not a member of Fairy Tail and also have broken no rules." she says coolly.

Not breaking eye contact, I answer, "They are my friends now. My family. Their happiness is my happiness. Their sadness is my sadness. Their punishment will be my punishment. For they _are_ my family now, and I will stick with them through it all. So I insist in taking it with them." I rest my hands on the arms around my waist, and I stand my ground. _I don't know why I feel so strongly protective of these people that I barely know, but I will help them through this. Whatever it will be. For even though I known them for less than two days, they feel as much of a part of my family as my parents do. _

Feeling my determination rise, I silently challenge Erza to try to stop me. I didn't hear anyone even breathe as we had our contest of wills. For over a minute, silence reigns over the guild. Finally, she closes her eyes and ducks her head in acquiesce. Loud sounds of people letting out their breath fill the room.

"If you insist then I have no choice, but to have the Master punish you as well." she says with a smile on her face and a gleam of what I think might be respect in her eyes.

I nod my head in thanks to her before replying, "That is all I ask." Next thing I know, there are hands on my shoulders that start shaking me like crazy.

My head gets whipped back and forth from the violent motion and a voice yells at me, "What are you thinking!? Do you not know how bad this is!? Why would you do such a thing!?" Taking a step back to get away from the voice shouting in front of me. I shake my head in an attempt to clear my mind. Someone shouts something about being a man that makes no sense to me so I ignore it for the time being. Coming back to my senses reveals a fuming Natsu standing in front of me.

"What do you mean 'Why would you do such a thing'? We're friends now. Family even, remember? I can't let my family go through this hardship alone. I'm going to be there with you every step along the way." I simply state, my determination to help them rising again. He gives me an indescribable look when he sees that I am completely serious about what I said. I'm engulfed by hugs on either side of me which turn out to be Gray and Lucy. Happy plops onto my head to hug me as well. I look at them and smile before wrapping my arms around the two at my sides. I give Natsu a proud look as I turn my gaze back towards him.

He gives me a long look before replying with a happy grin, "You have no idea what you're in for."

I nod my head in agreement and add, "But I will be with my friends, and that is all that matters." He puts his hands behind his head and grins even wider which causes me to smile happily as well. His warm gaze causes another feeling of warmth and happiness to spread within me. I feel a blush rise to my cheeks in response, but I don't break eye contact until a small cough catches our attention.

Its the white haired girl from before and she has an odd gleam in her eye before she politely asks, "I don't mean to be rude, but who are you?"

Still smiling, I introduce myself, "I'm Krystina Skye VanHawkins, you can call me Krysti. I'm hoping to become the newest member of Fairy Tail."

* * *

After being introduced to everyone present in the guild, the lovely white-haired girl, who was introduced as Mirajane, gets everyone to settle down. Gray, Lucy, Natsu and Happy go towards a table in the middle of the hall to sit down. Krysti follows with Erza and Mirajane close behind. Taking a seat near Natsu, the brunette grimaces while trying to hold back a hiss. Worried, the kind-hearted Mirajane goes to check on the newest applicant.

"What's wrong, Krysti? Are you hurt?" Mirajane asks softly.

Krysti just waves it off, "Its nothing really. No shoes and stone roads don't mix."

"What happened to your shoes?" Mirajane asks in a wondering tone. The other woman gets an odd look to her face.

"Well, it's a bit of a weird situation…" she trails off. Silent, Mirajane only nods in encouragement. Taking a breath, the brunette continues, "To put it bluntly, I'm from another world. How I got here, I don't know. I was asleep when it happened so I didn't have any shoes on." At this, Mirajane only blinks.

"It sounds crazy, but we believe it is true." chimes in Lucy.

Natsu nods before adding, "Yea. She had this really weird smell on her that just didn't belong. We went to check it out and we found her on the ground unconscious."

"So that's how you found me in those woods. I was wondering." Krysti says as she turns to face the dragon slayer. She frowns in thought before asking, "Weird smell you say?"

"Very weird. It was irritating and strong. It wasn't natural." he confirms while nodding his head vigorously.

"Natsu thought you were a demon." adds in Happy while raising his paw in the air.

"Huh, it might have been from the bleach when I was cleaning the kitchen." the brunette says thoughtfully, ignoring the cat's jab.

"What is bleach?" asks Erza.

Snapping out of her thoughts, the large woman replies, "Oh it's a cleaning chemical used as disinfectant, and stain remover. It does have a very harsh and irritating smell if it is concentrated too much. Its toxic in large amounts so you have to be very careful in handling it."

Natsu wrinkles his nose before asking, "Is that more of your science stuff from your world?"

Brightening up, Krysti flashes him a smile before answering, "Yes, it is in fact."

"Science?" mummers Mirajane quizzically.

"There is no magic in the world I'm from, so we developed this thing called science. In its most simple definition, Science is the study of everything." Krysti says as if it was perfectly natural to be discussing different aspects of another world. Mirajane nods her head in understanding while choosing to ignore the bombshell that the woman in front of her is a being from not only a different world, but a world without _magic_.

"The study of everything. That sounds like it is complicated and very time consuming." she murmurs politely.

"Oh, it is." starts off Krysti, warming up into one of her favorite subjects. "But to help make it less confusing, we break down the studies into branches. The scientists, those are what we call the people who are doing the studying, they first choose something they are interested in. It could be anything from a certain plant, a grain of sand, a particular fish, the way a storm works, how fast the sun and moon travel in the sky, the way business works, how our muscles work in our bodies, even why people react the way they do." She stops to take a breath before continuing the explanation excitedly.

"If you have a question about anything, we use science to find the answer. And if it turns out the answer is wrong, we try again until we find the right answer. If later on the answer we thought was right turns out to be wrong, we will look again until we find the right answer. Everything about science is based on fact. We go through trial and error, time and time again until we can say things with certainty. Many mistakes have been made. Many people have even lost their lives in the pursuit of science. But we still press on. It is the basis of our culture and understanding of the world. Without science we would still be in tiny villages living in fear of everything and thinking that each time a storm comes along it must be some god that was angry. And we have to sacrifice a virgin girl to appease them." She ends in a passionate rush.

During her speech, her eyes gained a fire to them and a smile grew on her face without her realizing it. She was blushing and extremely animated. As her friends all watch, they recognize that look in her eyes. It was the same look on her face when she was talking to Natsu about dragons.

"Wow, Krysti." starts off Lucy, "You must really love this science stuff." Still in the grasp of one of her great passions, she nods quickly while still smiling widely.

"Oh yes! I love science so much! I just love to learn new things, so I'm always looking up different sciences to learn more about it. Learning something new about my world, or about me is so interesting! One of my favorites is called Biology, which is short for the science of life. I can lose myself for hours just learning about how living things work." she looks close to swooning while in the midst of talking about her life's passion.

"You must be very smart to always be learning this new stuff." says Gray while looking clearly impressed. At this, Krysti waves it off, the blush growing as she looks down in embarrassment.

"No, I'm not that smart actually. There are tons of people much smarter than I am. I just have a passion to learn." she replies bashfully.

Erza looks down at her newest member of the family and says warmly, "Well, I'm glad that you have something in your life that you're passionate about. It gives you a more fulfilling life to have things you care about."

Looking up at Erza, Krysti closes her eyes and says cheerfully, "Thank you Erza, it has made my life better after I discovered my love for it. That's why I decided that while I am in this world, I want to use science to learn all magic." Silence meets her statement, and confused, Krysti opens her eyes to see why. Looks of surprise are on every face. The smile leaves her face and concern replaces it.

"Um, did I say something wrong?" she asks cautiously.

Shaking out of her stupor, Erza explains, "No. No, you didn't say anything wrong. Its just, that's a giant undertaking. Most people spend their whole lives mastering the one magic that drives them the most. While some may have one or two minor magics to go along with their main, it takes extreme mental fortitude to master more than one magic. Not many wizards are able to do that. And even more so for just three magics. To learn all magic has never been done before that I have heard of."

"Oh." says Krysti before she looks down in thought. A few seconds later her head pops up with her widest grin as she says with determination, "Well then, I guess that just means I have to try really hard then!"

Erza clamps a hand down on Krysti's shoulder and says, "That is a wonderful goal to try for. And as your family, we will help you every step of the way." Cheers of agreement erupt from the table before Erza continues, "It will be a long and hard road you're going to travel down, so be sure of your convictions."

Krysti just nods and smiles as another round of cheers sounds off from her new family in encouragement. As she looks around, her smile falls off slowly as her thoughts turn inwards. Being the first one to notice, Gray catches the others' attention with a quick shush and the cheering abruptly stops.

"Hey Krysti, what's wrong?" he asks worriedly.

Broken out of her thoughts she says in a low voice, "Actually, I was thinking about what am I going to do."

"What do you mean? You just said you're going to use science to learn all magic!" exclaims Natsu in disbelief.

"She is very forgetful, isn't she?" Happy declares to no one in particular.

Krysti shakes her head before clarifying, "No, I mean for support. I don't have any way to pay for food, clothes, and other necessities. I don't have anywhere to live, or any way of making money that I know of. That and I don't want to have to rely on charity the whole time I am here."

"Well that's easy, you can come with us for missions and we can share the rewards with you. That way you can have the money you need and not rely on our charity." states Natsu firmly.

"And you can live with us, we have plenty of room!" says Happy in a cheerful manner with Natsu agreeing close behind. Lucy gives the blue cat a shocked look, but doesn't say anything.

"No, it wouldn't be right for a young maiden just at marriageable age to alive alone with a man she is not married to." Erza tells the blue cat in reprimand. Without warning, laughter bubbles up from the brunette in question.

"How old do you, hehe, think I am Erza? Hahaha" Krysti asks between her laughter.

"You would have to be around 16, maybe 17." she says without hesitation.

"Oh gods, it's the same over here isn't it?" she says, getting her laughter under control. "I'm sorry Erza, but you're wrong. I'm not 16. I'm 27." she ends with a grin and a twinkle in her eye. Shocked silence descends upon the group, then the table erupts in shock at the news. Her grin widens at the expected reactions. She waits for everyone around the table to calm down somewhat before she turns to look at Natsu and Happy.

"Are you two sure that it wouldn't be a problem to let me stay at least until I can get my feet under me?" she asks worriedly.

Still grinning happily, Natsu confirms it, "Of course not! It would be fun to have a roommate!" he ends with a laugh. Krysti then turns to look at Erza who looks disapproving at the current state of events.

"Is there some sort of cultural taboo that a guy and a girl can't live in the same place?" she asks the red-head.

"Not taboo per say… but it _is_ looked down upon…" Erza starts off with a frown before Mirajane puts out a hand to stop her.

With a distinctly odd gleam in her eye she says, "It's okay, Erza. I'm sure nothing is going to happen. After all this is _Natsu_ we are talking about." The dragon slayer in question doesn't hear this since he has already left the table to go to the request board at the other side of the guild hall to look at the available missions. Gray soon follows with Happy close behind.

Looking reassured, Erza smiles a little before replying, "True. Since this is Natsu we are talking about, it should be okay."

At this point the large brunette straightens up in sudden realization before turning to Mirajane. "Oh Mirajane, by any chance do you have any ginger roots on hand?"

Looking surprised the young woman can only nod. Becoming curious about what the boys are doing, Lucy also goes to the request board. Looking over, Erza sees where her charges have gone, and heads after them in a stiff march. This leaves Mirajane and Krysti alone.

Not paying attention to the others, Krysti explains her reason for asking, "Well, while traveling to get here, I found out that Natsu gets extreme motion sickness. The poor guy. So I want to help him out. I know this herbal remedy of using ginger, honey, and lemons that should help out. If it doesn't cure, then it should at least weaken the effects. I want to start making him some today to see if it works or not." The white-haired woman claps her hands together in happiness.

"Oh that's wonderful to hear! Motion sickness has been plaguing him for years, and we didn't know anything we can do about it!" she gushes out in joy.

"So I recently found out." Krysti growls out as her expression darkens.

"Eh?" asks Mirajane in confusion.

"I found out yesterday from Erza, that no one except for her, has tried anything to make him feel better. And all she did was punch him in the stomach to knock him unconscious! According to them, no one has even tried asking around to see if there _was_ a cure!" she says heatedly.

"My, you really do seem to care about Natsu's well-being, don't you?" says Mirajane, a little taken aback at the anger in the brunette's eyes.

"Yes, I care. I hate seeing people in pain or misery and it riles me up when I find out that no one would even try to comfort them. And now that I consider him as family, even more so!" Krysti says, some of her earlier anger at his mistreatment showing through.

"And what if it was Gray, or Erza?" Mirajane asks, trying to probe how far the brunette's feelings go for her new family.

"It's the same for them." came the reply without any hesitation. Before Mirajane could probe any deeper, an odd glow fills the room. Startled, both girls look around to find that the glow is coming from the table where Erza, Natsu, Lucy, Happy, and Gray are at.

Macao, who turns out to be the guy with slicked back, dark hair from earlier, walks towards the table with the odd rainbow-like glow while asking, "What's this?" Beside him is his longtime friend and rival, Wakaba.

"So, some people get so terrified of punishment, they'll sprout rainbows?" asks Wakaba in confusion while puffing on his pipe.

Turning to his friend with the large pompadour, Macao answers, "No, I don't think that's it…" The glow dies down a minute later, leaving the guys around the table dazed.

"Groggy…" says someone quietly.

"I'm cold!" yells out Gray as he starts shivering violently to warm up.

Elfman, the larger, burlier, younger brother of Mirajane questions, "Why's an ice-user cold?"

Gray's teeth start chattering as he exclaims, "What the heck? My whole body is way too cold!" Most of the guild, who has now gathered near the others, are all surprised by Gray's statements.

Jerking in sudden realization, Lucy exclaims, "Something…friggin' heavy! My chest area is like really, really heavy!" in a lower voice than normal, she leans over the table and puts a hand on her back before complaining, "My back is killing me…"

In the crowd someone asks, "Are you okay, Lucy? Your voice is lower than normal…"

Gray looks over while still shivering and says in a confused tone, "That's not… AHHHH!"

Suddenly an orange haired guy with glasses pops up off of the ground from the other side of the table and asks, "Oh? Why was I on the ground?" In response, Natsu's entire demeanor changes, he touches his nose like he is adjusting glasses and gets a sultry look on his face. You can almost see the sparkles around him.

"And wait… why am I standing?" he asks in a soft tone that no one has ever heard from him before as he looks around in a puzzled manner. When he sees that he is standing by Lucy, he jumps back and screams in fear before running away like he is being chased by a demon.

Looking angry, Lucy raises her fist and takes a step in his direction before shouting, "Hey, Natsu! Why did you run away when you saw my face?" She then pauses, looks confused and asks more to herself, "What's with my voice?"

Looking stunned, Macao puts a hand behind his head while saying, "T-they're acting different from normal…"

"What in the world is all this ruckus?" demands Happy in a very stern tone while staring firmly at the other guild members.

In a little kid like voice, Erza calls out, "Natsu, check it out! Wait, who's Natsu?" she starts looking around confused.

The orange-haired guy answers while looking irritated, "Huh? What? And man, why's it so dark in here?"

In the same child-like voice, Erza says, "I got two neato boobs stuck to my chest! Look! Look!" At this, she grabs her breasts and starts squeezing them to show them off, much to the enjoyment of most of the male members of the guild.

Looking scandalized, Happy goes for a high-flying kick while shouting, "Cease that!" When he makes contact with the armor, he collapses from the pain.

Erza just says, "That didn't hurt much." She and the oddly acting people surround a crestfallen Happy.

To himself, Happy mutters, "What is the reason for this cat form? Wait…I truly am a cat! I don't remember requiping this!"

Cana, the heavy drinking, bikini top wearing, beautiful brunette, complains from a nearby table at how she can't drink in peace while a young boy next to her exclaims at how he thinks magic is cool. Chaos starts to reign as the 5 magic users freak out over their situation. Krysti and the rest of the guild could only watch in stunned disbelief as their friends seem to be losing their minds.

In an attempt to regain control, Happy yells out in obvious frustration, "Haven't you realized it yet? Our minds and bodies have … switched places!" One second later, the other 4 start yelling out of shock.

Falling to his knees, the orange haired boy urgently asked the cat, "What do you mean, Happy?"

Happy loudly answers back, "I am Erza!" The boy looks at the cat in confusion.

Erza yells at the boy, "I'm Happy! You're so mean, Loke…"

"Be quiet!" Happy, who is now Erza, snaps.

Timidly, Gray says, "Which means…"

"Natsu and Loke… Gray and Lucy… And worst of all, Happy and I have switched places!" states Erza while in Happy's body.

"EH!?" shouts the entire guild at once.

"What do you mean, 'worst of all'?" indignantly protests Erza, who is actually Happy.

"Magical words of ancient Umpera-ese. You have activated Changeling." solemnly says a small old man by the entrance of the guild. The 5 affected mages run up to the old man with greetings of 'Master' and 'Gramps', which tells Krysti that this man was the Master she was waiting for.

Not bothering to greet them back, the Master continues, "That request is the cause. When you read that spell, the people nearby swap minds. That is Changeling."

Lucy in Gray's body trembles in fear as she repeats the name of the spell. While Gray in Lucy's body clamps his/her hand onto the shoulder of the orange-haired boy, named Loke, who is now occupied by Natsu.

"You're Natsu, right?" Gray asks.

"Yea." Natsu replies before getting pulled to face a very angry Gray.

"What the hell have you done?!" Gray demands loudly.

Pushing his face closer toward Gray, as per usual during their fights, Natsu yells back, "Don't ask me! All I did was try and read the request a little! And would someone turn on the lights!" he yells that last demand to the rest of the guild, not realizing that he is wearing sunglasses.

"Enough, Lucy! I mean, Gray. It's not just your minds that swap… Your magic swaps as well." wisely states the Master of the guild. The mind-swapped mages all get shocked by this fact. "And one last thing! If you don't undo the spell within 30 minutes of activation… You will never be able to return to normal. Or so the legend goes." he finishes darkly. The group gets shocked again at the fact of their worsening situation.

Natsu runs to Mirajane and asks her, "How long has it been since then?"

"16 minutes. So you have 14 minutes left." she states in all seriousness. Hearing this, Krysti frowns in thought.

Feeling desperate, Natsu turns back to the guild master and cries out, "Gramps! What's the spell to return us back to normal?"

Glancing away, he scratches his nose before answering, "Well, it is an ancient magic… When it comes to something this old… I have no clue!" he declares, almost proudly. Any hope the group felt has been dashed by that declaration. He then continues in a wistful tone, "And I was so looking forward to punishing you for going on that S class quest…" He walks past the group and heads toward the bar while and says, "That's out of the question now! Well, give it your best shot!"

At this, the group starts breaking down in despair, while Krysti follows the Master's progress with her eyes. When he settles himself down, she gives her friends a worried glance before moving to meet the Master as he watches the 5 mages and how they are handling the situation.

* * *

I take a deep breath to steady my nerves and hopefully calm down my heart. I walk over to the short man who is the Master of this guild, and the man who would determine if I would be able to join Fairy Tail. As I near him, he doesn't seem to notice my presence until I am only a few feet from the bar. He turns to look me over before greeting me.

"Welcome young lady. Is there something I can do for you?" he asks politely. I bow to him as a sign of respect before standing back up straight to answer him.

"Greetings, Master. It is an honor to meet you. My name is Krystina Skye VanHawkins and I would consider it an honor if I would be allowed to join the guild." I say as respectfully as I could.

"Oh? And what makes you want to join this guild, young one?" he inquires a warm smile spreading across his face. I smile as I think about my friends.

I answer him, "Honestly, it was Erza who gave me the idea. The way she spoke about this guild and how much it meant to her, struck a chord in my heart. She made it sound so warm and happy. It sounded like this was such a wonderful place that I couldn't help but want to be able to be a part of that. That, and it would mean that I would be able to spend more time with my friends and have a chance to make even more friends just as wonderful as they are"

He rubs his mustache in thought for a moment before asking me, "And how did you come by to meet Erza, if I may ask?"

"I don't mind. I met Erza yesterday, before she and the others left the island to come back to the guild. They found me in the woods and brought me here." I say softly. He motions for me to take a seat by the bar, and I bow my head in thanks.

"Something tells me there is more to the story than you first let on child." he intones as a gleam of wisdom shines from his eyes.

"Yes there is, but much of it I don't know. I guess I should start from the beginning." I say with a sigh and a light chuckle. He nods his agreement and I continue, "The only explanation that I can give, is that for reasons unknown to me, I was brought here from another world. I remember falling asleep just outside of my home while I was stargazing. Then I woke up with Natsu's face hovering over mine. I have no idea at all how or why I am here."

He looks at me with wide eyes. "Another world? Are you sure?" he asks me gravely.

I nod back with equal seriousness. "I am completely positive. I am from a world that has no magic. The only magic is what is mentioned in stories, but those are over a thousand years old. If there ever were magic, it is long gone by now, considered to be only myths and old superstitions. I don't know how I was able to get to this world, and I have no idea how I may be able to get back home." He looks down, seemingly in deep thought.

"It is hard to imagine a world without magic." He starts off before looking back up at me and continuing, "But if you have no idea how you have gotten here, it will be difficult to find a way for you to get back. If at all. Are you prepared for that?" I look down, feeling sad that he doesn't have an answer on how I may return to my world. At the same time, I feel relieved that I will get to be with my friends longer.

Feeling the conflicting emotions in me, I look back up and answer, "Yes, I have been thinking that there is a possibility that I may never return home. And I am prepared for that eventuality if it comes to pass. But that doesn't mean that I will stop trying to figure out how and why I am here. And how to get back home." He nods in acceptance again at my answer.

"Well Krystina, if I find out anything about this, I will be sure to let you know." I duck my head in thanks.

"Thank you, Master. It means a lot that you are willing to help." I say with a smile.

"Think nothing of it, young lady. I am most happy to help." He replies warmly. A loud shout catches our attention as more people I don't know have joined in the ruckus. I remember what I asked of Erza that she was suppose to bring up to the Master. _With this going on, she is in no state of mind to be talking about punishments and stuff. But this is mighty suspicious. He lied to them. He knows something about the spell. _I frown slightly and decide to confront him about this.

"Master." I start out slowly.

"Yes, child?" he inquires.

I look over at him before saying, "This is an interesting punishment that you have going on for the group. It is too bad that Erza and Loke were caught up in it."

"What do you mean by that?" he says while fixing me with a hard stare. I don't let the look bother me as I clarify.

"This Changeling spell. It's clever that you're using it as a punishment. Or if this was not the punishment that you have planned, it was quick thinking to change it into the punishment by making them think the body swap is permanent." I tell him.

"Oh? And what gives you the idea that the change isn't permanent?" he inquires.

Taking a deep breath, I tell him my suspicions in a soft tone so no one else hears me, "Well the first thing that caught my attention was the fact that Mirajane told everyone that 16 minutes passed by when in fact it was more like 3. Next, was when you said you had no clue about the magic. You looked away while scratching your nose. Tell-tale signs of when someone is lying. Third, was the way you acted to the fact that they would be permanently stuck the way they are now." At this point, Mirajane comes over to stand with us and I nod at her while continuing.

"If this place values family and taking care of their own as much as I have seen with my friends, then there would be no way that the Master would care so little about the well-being of the people under their charge. Rule breakers or not. So, either this was the main plan of punishment for them that Erza and Loke got caught in by accident, or this is a harmless spell to where you added danger that isn't there to take the place of the original punishment you had planned for them." I finish explaining and leaving me feeling slightly out of breath.

He gives me an appraising stare, one to which I don't back away from. "That's an interesting theory young lady. What do you plan on doing with this information?" he asks slowly.

"Nothing." I state simply. He raises an eyebrow in question. So I add, "Either way if this was on purpose or not, they are still being punished. Erza explained on the way here what has happened, and I agree that you need to be taught a lesson if you go breaking rules willy-nilly." I look over to see everyone else in the guild doing what they can to help their friends. "Also it seems to be helping the guild bond together better through adversity. A welcome bonus in my opinion." He nods without saying anything.

"Oh, I have one other matter to bring to your attention Master." I inform him.

"And what is it child?" he asks in curiosity.

"Erza was to tell you, but since she is otherwise indisposed I guess I should tell you myself. I wish to join Natsu and the others in their punishment." I tell him. Eyes wide, he looks at me askance. Before he says anything, I continue.

"They are my family now. Family shares the good times and the bad. It is because of me that they did not arrive here as fast as they should have been able to. I caused the delay, so I should not be spared from the punishment. I know that I cannot join them at this moment for this particular lesson, but I will accept whatever you think would be appropriate." I bow my head with closed eyes, waiting for his judgment.

I hear him 'hmm' like he is in thought before he says, "I will need some time to reflect upon this before I can judge fairly."

"Thank you Master, I look forward to your decision." I politely reply. I turn my attention back towards the others to watch what happens.

* * *

After a short, pixie-like, blue-haired woman, who Krysti later found out was called Levy, figured out how to solve the spell, she immediately started casting it. The spell at first seemed to of worked, but only on Gray and Lucy. Due to a slight error in pronunciation, other nearby people were caught up and swapped bodies as well. Levy tried a few more times before she was able to finally get the words correct. After that, it was smooth sailing and everyone who was mind-swapped returned back to normal.

The usual chaos soon occurred as the people affected were now in their original bodies. A party broke out with Levy as its target, which embarrassed the short girl. More guild members returned, who all joined in the party even though they have no idea why there was a party. A brawl started between the males, the two usual suspects being the cause of it, and Levy was able to get away unnoticed to make her way over to her blonde best friend, Lucy.

"Hey, Lu-chan?" Levy starts out cheerfully.

"Yes, Levy-chan?" answers Lucy, curious at what her friend wants.

"Why did you guys pick out that request anyways? It's not a normal one you guys would do." Levy asks.

Lucy shrugs before answering, "Beats me, Natsu was the one who picked it out actually."

"Really? _Natsu_ picked out the request that needed knowledge of old languages to complete?" Levy asks in disbelief.

"Yea, which seems really odd for him. I pegged him as more of the type that wants adventure and fighting." says Lucy thoughtfully.

"That's my point! He _is_ that type!" exclaims Levy.

"We could always just ask." says Lucy before turning to face the brawl. "Hey! Natsu!" she cries out hoping to be heard over the din. Natsu appears near them at the edge of the fight, dodging furniture and fists.

"Whatcha need, Lucy?" he grunts out after taking a kick to the stomach. He tries dodging the punches while paying attention to Lucy. Getting fed up, he grabs one of Levy's teammates and tosses him through the crowd, knocking down several people and giving him some breathing room. Wiping his hands and taking a deep calming breath, he walks over to the girls. "Sorry about that Lucy, I didn't hear what you said."

Wide-eyed, the girls share a look that screamed _I can't believe that Natsu, OUR Natsu willingly stepped out of the middle of a brawl._

Huffing in slight annoyance, Natsu prompts them with, "Well, what is it?"

Not fully recovered from their shock, Levy answers for Lucy, "We were wondering, Natsu. Why did you take this strange request in the first place? It doesn't seem something you would be interested in."

Nonchalantly, he answers without hesitation, "It isn't what I would want to do as a request. But Krysti said she needed to earn some money for food and clothes and stuff. That request looked like a very easy way to get some money to get her started." Then his eyes widen in realization as he smacks a fist into his palm. "Oh, that's right! You solved the meaning of the words, so the reward is yours, Levy." A chair flies out of the din and pegs Natsu in the back of his head. Suddenly angry again, he flies back into the crowd to defeat the chair thrower.

"So it was for Krysti, that's… surprisingly thoughtful of him." Lucy trails off.

"Who is Krysti? She new?" asks Levy. Lucy points toward the bar where said woman was dodging flying furniture and having a tough time doing so. The brawl continues in usual fashion until the Master gets fed up.

"ALRIGHT! CALM DOWN YOU BRATS!" he yells out, effectively stopping the fight. He coughs and continues in a more normal voice. "We have here someone who wants to join the guild. Please welcome, Krysti." A chorus of cheers from the crowd causes the large woman to blush from the attention. As the cheers die down, the Master continues, "She has also requested that she join our rule breakers in their punishment." Silence falls over the crowd before a lot of voices start whispering to each other.

"I have thought hard about this and came to a decision!" continued the Master before he pauses to take time to look out over the crowd. Krysti uses this time to walk towards the majority of the guild before turning to face the Master's judgement head-on.

"My decision is this: She cannot join Fairy-tail." He states very gravely. Immediately a ruckus of disagreement flows from the crowd, but none louder than from Lucy, Gray, Happy, and Natsu. They fly to the bar and stand in front of the Master to argue.

"What the hell, gramps!" yells Natsu.

"This isn't fair!" cries out Lucy.

"We are her friends, she is already family!" declares Gray.

"No fair!" cries Happy. The master just looks at them with a hard stare.

From behind them a soft voice says, "Guys, it's okay. If that is his decision…"

"No! It's not okay!" roars out Natsu. "You're already part of our family and you should be allowed to join!"

"That is cruel Gramps! You can't not let her join!" Shouts an angry Gray. Krysti puts of both her hands on each of the shoulders of the guys in front of her. They turn to look to see a sad soft look in her eyes.

"It's okay. Really. You guys have already done so much for me. Thank you. It was too much to hope for to be allowed in, especially since I'm not a mage. I'll figure out some other way to pay you back for all the kindness you have shown me." she says in that same soft voice. Stepping in past them she bows down to the Master before saying, "Thank you for at least considering my application to the guild. And thank you for passing a fair punishment, Master. I shall take my leave." At this, she stands up straight and slowly makes her way to the doors.

In a flash, Erza blocks her way with outstretched arms. "Master!" she calls out forcefully. "I cannot stand by your decision to not let her become a member! I too believe that she belongs with us. Already she has helped us out more than you know in only these two days that we have known her."

"Che, damn brats. You didn't let me finish." says the Master irritably. The rest of the guild is slightly taken aback at this. "I said that she can't _join_ Fairy Tail…" He pauses to see if anyone is going to interrupt again. As no one is protesting, he continues, "She can't join because in her heart, she already _is_ Fairy Tail." He sits back in his seat and lets a smirk cross his face as he watches the smiles in realization start appearing on the young faces in front of him. "You can't join something that you already are a part of in your heart." he finishes with a look of pride shining in his eyes. Cheers erupt from the guild as everyone is laughing, crying, and cheering all at the same time. None more so than the newest member in the center of the celebration.


	5. Chapter 5

Previously:

_ He sits back in his seat and lets a smirk cross his face as he watches the smiles in realization start appearing on the young faces in front of him. "You can't join something that you already are a part of in your heart." he finishes with a look of pride shining in his eyes. Cheers erupt from the guild as everyone is laughing, crying, and cheering all at the same time. None more so than the newest member in the center of the celebration._

* * *

The welcoming party starts before the Master's words finish echoing throughout the guildhall. Never before in my life, have I felt as accepted as the members of Fairy Tail make me feel. _This feels right. I feel like this is where I belong. Right here, with these people. _My happiness overwhelms me and I start crying, again, much to the horror of the boys. I laugh as the tears run down my cheeks, vastly amused with the reactions of the guys.

Lucy and Erza share a look of understanding between each other and embrace me with a large hug. When the worst of my joyful tears are over with, I thank both girls with another warm loving embrace. Erza even manages to not slam my head against her armor. As the party gets into full swing, it seems that every time I turn around someone is pushing a tankard of something into my hands. I politely thank them, move on and give it to someone else. At one point, I forgot what I had in my hands and feeling thirsty, I took a swig.

As soon as the taste of alcohol registered, I spewed out the drink in a large spray. Seeing that, most of the guild pauses in their partying and starts laughing at the different faces I make while trying to get the taste out of my mouth. Mirajane, taking pity on me, brings me over to the bar and gives me some sweet, non-alcoholic, fruit juice to help rid the taste of alcohol.

"You don't really drink much do you?" she asks with a giggle after I drown almost the whole mug in one go.

I let out a sigh in relief before answering, "No, I don't drink at all. I never want to touch that stuff." I make a face in distaste before adding, "Nasty tasting drink. I never understand why people like it so much."

"Well, people seem to like it because it makes them happier, more free to express themselves." says Mirajane cheerfully.

"More free to act the fool and make dangerous mistakes as well." I mutter darkly while staring into the mug. A hand gently places itself on mine. I look up into the concerned eyes of Mirajane.

"You had something bad happen back in your world." she states. I nod before looking back down, trying to keep the memories at bay. "I won't press you for the story, but if you ever want to talk about it I'm willing to listen." her gentle voice says to me. I look back up and give her a soft smile.

"Thanks Mirajane, that's means a lot to me. I'll be sure to take you up on that offer when the time comes." I place my other hand on top of hers, and I give it a gentle squeeze.

"You can also talk to me if you have any other questions or concerns, or if you just want any advice. I'll be glad to help the best I can, or just be a shoulder you can cry on." she gives me a sweet, happy smile which I can't help but return. On the bar stool, I turn around to face the guildhall as the partiers have a great time. I let my smile fade as an old memory returns. _There are some things that can't be shared, even amongst family._

* * *

The celebration lasts longer than I would of expected. The sun slowly starts to sink and bathes the guildhall in a golden light. I sit there lost in my thoughts as I survey the guild when not brawling. _Its sorta peaceful like this. Lucy and Erza seem to be in deep conversation about something. And there's Gray with, whoszat again? Low key? _I sit up a little straighter. _Huh? Where's Pinky and Happy?_

Elfman, in what seems to be a heated debate, slams his fist on a table to make a point and he happened to hit the edge of a plate. The fork and spoon on the plate fly into the crowded hall and almost immediately people start fighting. I give off a slightly amused grin. _There's goes the peaceful vibe. _A beer mug crashing into the bar next to me brings me out of my silent reminiscing. Feeling the need to release some tension and clear out the dark thoughts I recently had, I fly into the fray.

Feeling my heart beat faster and my internal worries melt away, I dodge thrown objects, and flying fists. Adrenaline pumps through me and I grin like a fool. My punches don't affect the guys very well, but my kicks were much more effective. After a while, I notice that none of the people I been brawling with weren't really fighting me. I would get punched, but there is no real power behind any of them. They were more of a tap than anything.

_ Treating me with kid gloves huh? I'll show them what a country-girl can do._ Determination drives me forward as I attack harder and fiercer trying to get someone to fight me for real. At one point, I come across Gray using his magic to slam someone else to the ground. I move in from behind and knock him down with a well placed kick to the lower back. I raise my fists ready to block a return attack while bouncing on the balls of my feet. Turning around in anger, he sees that I was the one who attacked him. Grumbling, he shakes his head and moves off to fight someone else.

His reaction gives me an empty feeling inside. I shake my head to clear it and pick someone else to fight. Yet despite how I fought, none of the guys would fight back and I haven't seen any of the other girls in the fray. Finally, I get sick of the special treatment and I slink off to sulk at an empty table in the back. I watch the others in jealousy as they were having the time of their lives.

_ Man, this sucks. I always wanted to get into a proper fists-out, drawn-out brawl, and when I get the chance, no one wants to fight me. This really bites. _I let out a frustrated groan and slam my head onto the table. The smell of oak and beer assaults my nose as I lay facedown on the table, grumbling to myself.

Moments pass by while I listen to the drunk revelry. _Heh, just like home. Everyone is out having fun while I just sit on the sidelines, watching. Guess things aren't as different here as I first thought. Even in another world, people are people wherever you go. _A light touch on my back startles me and I lift my head in response. Standing beside me is the short, petite, blue-haired girl named Levy.

"Uh, hi there. Can I help you?" I start off lamely.

"Hi! I'm Levy. Levy McGarden! Pleased to meet you, Krysti!" she chirps very energetically. I can't help but smile and chuckle at her contagious happiness before extending out my hand for her to shake.

"Nice to meet you too, Levy!" I cheerfully greet back as she shakes my hand vigorously and seats herself down beside me. "You're the one who broke that body swap spell, right?" I ask.

"Yup! The answer was actually very simple. Can't believe that it took me so long to figure out all I had to do was read it backwards." she bemoans while shaking her head sadly.

"Hey! You still managed to figure it out, which is awesome! I wished I could have been able to help, but I can't even read your language." I tell her in a sheepish manner.

"Eh? You can't read?!" she looks at me, horrified. Both of her hands cover her mouth like I told her I like to kick puppies.

"I can't read your language." I correct her while chuckling. I clear my throat before continuing, "But oddly enough you guys have some things written in my language. I see bits and pieces that I know from other languages and then there are some that I don't recognize at all." I shake my head in confusion. "It's like a conglomeration of different languages that I know of, with some extra thrown in. I honestly can't make heads or tails out of it."

"I never heard of anyone knowing of another language that isn't of the ancients. As far as I know, everyone speaks the same!" she says loudly while waving both of her arms wildly in the air, shock written all over her face.

"Not me, I have to have this…," I tap at my ear where I have the translator firmly wedged in place, "…magic translator so I can speak to everyone. When I first met Natsu and the guys, it was really frustrating that I couldn't communicate very much. I'm just glad that my world and yours have a lot in common otherwise I would have been totally lost!" I say in relief. Her eyes start bugging out which causes me some concern. "Hey, are you ok, Levy?"

"Your world!?" she almost screeches out in shock.

"Oh? No one mentioned it? Yea, I come another world." I state calmly.

"Oh. My. GOD!" she squeals that last word much louder than I anticipated, making me clap my hands over my ears. She grabs onto my arm with a vice-like grip before shouting, "You have to tell me everything!"

"Uh, sure." I chuckle weakly under her audio assault.

* * *

Krysti and Levy spent the next few hours discussing the differences and similarities of the each of their worlds while the brawl inside the guild calmed down. Afternoon and evening blends gently into night without the girls noticing. When the subject came to books, the overly excited blue-haired girl makes a dash to drag over her fellow book lover. Lucy is confused to why she is being dragged over until the conversation starts up again about books.

They then have a rather lengthy talk punctuated with excited squeals from one girl or the other. While all the while Levy's teammates Jet, the fast running magic user, and Droy, the plant magic user, were at a table behind the girls marveling at how cute the blonde and bluenette were.

Before Lucy and Levy leave for home, Krysti gets them to promise to help her learn how to read, much to the enjoyment of the new friends. Left alone again, but feeling much better, Krysti stays at the table for the rest of the party and watches with no small amount of jealousy when Cana and Erza join in a renewed brawl and gets no special treatment from the guys. It was short lived as Erza defeated the other fighters with terrifying efficiency.

This leads to Krysti understanding even more why her friends are so afraid of making the red-head mad. She then snickers to herself at the thought of how her friends must of viewed her being able to stand up to Erza. The Fairy Tail members leave the guild in small groups not long after Erza takes out almost every fighter, each helping the other stagger home with lots of pained groans. Except for the ones who partied and fought so hard that they passed out on the floor.

Krysti shakes her head sadly at the sight, but makes no move to help them. Unsure at what to do, or where to go, she sits quietly at the table waiting for Natsu to return.

He has been missing since before the 2nd brawl and Krysti hopes that he remembers that he and Happy invited her to stay with them.

By the time most of the people have left, Mirajane appears from behind the bar and starts working on moving broken furniture around. Seeing this, Krysti pops up out of her seat and moves over to help the young woman. She protests, not wanting the guest of the party to clean. Krysti stubbornly insists and sighing in defeat, Mirajane goes and hands her a broom from behind the bar.

Sighing again, she gives up the broom with an, "Ok, but _only_ sweeping! You're not to do anything else!" she commands sternly with both hands on her hips.

"Yes Ma'am!" Krysti chirps with a large grin and a salute.

With a laugh, Mirajane goes to do other cleaning duties while the brunette moves to a corner of the hall and start sweeping in a leisurely manner. She smiles to herself at the familiar task and starts to hum in content. When all was left was the sweeping, Mirajane approaches Krysti with a rubberstamp. Krysti slows her sweeping and looks at white-haired in confusion as the she moves closer.

"If you are a member of Fairy Tail, you need a guild mark on you to prove it.", Mirajane explains when she see Krysti's confused look. A look of understanding appears on the other woman's face before the younger asks, "So where would you like it and what color?"

Looking surprised, Krysti asks, "I can choose a color? What choices are there?"

"Any color you want, no limits." she answers with a small grin.

"Hmmm." Krysti frowns in thought, considering her choices. A couple of moments later, she perks up with a smile.

"I would like it in royal blue, if you please. And right here." she says while patting her left hip.

"Ok, let me set the color and we will be ready." Mirajane says while fiddling with the stamp. Krysti maneuvers her night gown and sweatpants to expose where on her hip that she wanted the guild mark. One quick stamping later, and it is complete.

Krystina Skye VanHawkins is now an official member of Fairy Tail.

Krysti twists and turns, trying to get a good look at the stamp before giving up with a sigh. She looks up at a giggling Mirajane before giving her a smile in return.

"Thank you Mirajane, I'm really glad to know that now I'm considered a full member despite not knowing any magic. This has been some crazy day." she says gratefully.

"That's Fairy Tail for you, a crazy day _is_ a normal day. And please, call me Mira." she replies with a warm smile. Placing a hand on her hip that is holding the stamp she reaches out to grab the broom while adding, "Now let me take that broom and finish sweeping for you. Its late after all."

"Naw, I got it. You been doing all the hard work with the furniture moving and stuff. This is the least I can do. You can go on home, I'll finish up." Krysti tells her firmly.

"Well, ok. If you're sure." the blue-eyed woman smiles and waves goodbye, leaving Krysti as the only person awake in the hall. Everyone else that passed out has been moved to another room that was set up for the overly enthusiastic partiers to sleep in years ago. With a contented sigh, she continues to work in silence on sweeping everything up that she can. By the time she finishes, she is tired and footsore.

Taking the broom back to the bar, the brunette leans it up against the counter and turns to survey the hall. Too tired to be picky, she heads over to an empty nearby bench that hasn't been destroyed in the fight to lay down on top of it. Using her arms as a pillow, Krysti lays down on her stomach and proceeds to get comfortable. Unsure of when Natsu will return, she decides to try to get some sleep in case he doesn't show.

* * *

A hand on my shoulder and a voice in my ear wakes me up from a dreamless slumber.

"Hey! Krysti, get up! It's time to go!" says the voice in my ear loudly.

"Huh? Wha…?" is all I say as I lift up my head to see who is shaking me.

"What are you doing sleeping here? It's time to go home." the voice says. I open my eyes to see a blurry image focusing itself into the missing dragon slayer.

"Huh? Natsu?" I yawn. "What are you doing here?" I ask as I go to rub the sleep out of my eye.

"I've come to take you home. Remember? You're staying with me for a while at least." he tells me. Another yawn forces its way out of me.

"Ah, that's right. You did offer." I push myself off the bench and into a sitting position. "Where were you? I didn't see you for most of the celebration." I ask him tiredly.

He looks away like he is embarrassed before answering, "I was at home, trying to get it ready for you. I never lived with someone before. Well, besides Happy that is. I wanted to make a good impression." At those words, I feel touched that he was going through all that trouble for me.

"Oh Natsu, you didn't have to do all of that." I gently tell him with a warm smile.

He shakes his head before smiling widely. "I want to. After all, we're family!" Looking up into his eyes, I feel a large smile form on my face as well.

"Yes, of course. Family." I say, agreeing with him. I get off the bench with a stretch to wake myself up more as my joints crackle and pop from the movements.

"Your body sounds like an old person each time you get up." he says with a smirk and amused glint in his eyes.

"Your's will be the same when you get to my age, punk!" I playfully retort. He starts walking out the guild while I follow along.

"Who are you calling a punk, grandma?" he replies with a grin.

"You, that's who, dragon-breath." I quip, grinning back.

"Hey! My breath doesn't smell that bad!" he says in a mock hurt tone.

"Apparently you never smelled your breath in the morning. Phew!" I act like I'm waving away a bad smell with one hand.

"At least I don't eat like a pig!" he retorts a bit grumpily.

"Wrong again, dragon boy. I raised pigs, and you can shovel down the food just as fast as they do!" he pouts at this, which looks ridiculously cute on him. I poke his cheek with a finger. "Aw, did I hit a nerve there?" He pouts more.

"I'm sorry Natsu, I didn't mean to hurt your feelings." I apologize. His face doesn't change and he doesn't look at me. I smile and say softly, "I missed you at the party. Everyone was having fun, and two more brawls started."

"Aw man! You mean I missed a chance to beat up that ice-bastard?" he whines as he looks back toward me with disappointment in his eyes. The jab from a moment ago now forgotten.

"Heh, yea. You did. But if it's any help, I gave him a couple of pretty good kicks." I state proudly.

"EH? You went and fought?" he asks incredulously.

"Yea, I jumped in with the others." I let my smile fade and now it's my turn to pout. "Only no one would fight back with me. I punched and kicked but no one would fight me. They treated me like a kid." I cross my arms over my chest with a humph.

"Of course they wouldn't fight you! You're a girl!" Natsu exclaims like it is the most natural fact in the world. I glare at him before smacking him upside the head. "OW! What was that for?!" he yells while hold the back of his head.

I bite off angrily, "It shouldn't matter just because I am a girl! I wanted to fight dammit! I'm no girly-girl. I want to get in there and get my hands dirty. If I was just a kid, or sick, or staying out of the way, that's one thing. But I went into the middle of it and I wanted a bare-knuckle showdown with blood and sweat flying everywhere! That and I saw no one had a problem fighting Erza or Cana when they joined in!"

After shouting this, I proceed to march down the street leaving him behind me. I am not a feminist, but I never really considered myself a girl. I always felt much more at home as one of the guys. So it always irks me to be reminded that yes, I am a woman, and no, I can't do everything a man can. It's always been quite the sore spot with me and one of the few things that would actually make my temper explode. Natsu right then just hit the button perfectly to set me off.

"Goddamn sexist males. Just because I'm a girl doesn't mean I don't want to roughhouse with the guys. I wanted some fun dammit!" I mutter out to myself after I passed by a few streets while silently grinding my teeth.

"I would like shum fun too, girlie. Why don't we have shum fun toge-together?" a unfamiliar drunken voice calls out from the darkness.

"Beat it dick-wad! I am so not in the mood!" I growl out to the dark figure not bothering to stop my angry march.

"Well that's too bad, besuse I am!" declares the drunkard before snaking out a hand and catching my wrist in a tight grip, jerking me to a complete stop. I narrow my eyes at him as my anger grows.

"You're going to regret that, fucktard." I hiss out. _Ok, self defense lessons, number 1, if they catch you by the wrist, hand, or arm, step up closer and drive a fist into the solar plexus. _A grunt of pain sounds out as I put my thoughts into action. _Step 2, use this time to break out of the grip by twisting through the thumb and index finger. _A dancer's twirl and my wrist is free. _Step 3, if their head is low enough, grab them by the ears and drive your knee into their nose. _A loud cry of pain follows a crunching noise. _Last, if they are still upright, finish it with a blow to a vulnerable area. _A thump of something hitting the ground hard follows after I go for a vertical kick to his face.

Breathing heavily, I lower my foot as I stay on high alert in case he has buddies. With no signs of anyone else around after a couple of tense moments, I relax my body suddenly feeling cold. _Wow, I didn't know how heated up I was from my earlier anger. Guess that is where the expression 'make my blood boil' stems from. _I shiver a little and start walking away from the drunk in case he gets up and wants to go for round two. As I pass by that building the drunk was at, a warm hand lands on my shoulder. Instinctively, I twist out of the grasp and jump away while still spinning to see who my new attacker is.

"Whoa, calm down there. It's just me." Calls out Natsu's familiar low voice. I start relaxing again as he continues to talk. "I saw how you took care of that jerk back there. That was awesome! I had no idea that you can fight like that!"

I arch an eyebrow at him before replying sharply, "I took some lessons while in my world, just in case for guys like him. Usually I don't get bothered by those guys, but there is always just the one that doesn't give a damn." I take a calming breath and ease up on my sharp tone.

"I don't have the physical capabilities yet to do a lot of fighting stuff, but what I can do, I do very well. I always wanted to be able to train to get stronger. But between my job, my family, and college, it was hard enough just to learn and train with what I know right now." I finish in a regretful manner.

Both of his hands land on my shoulders a couple of seconds later as he says, "Ok then. Let's train together so we both can get strong." My eyes widen.

"You really mean that?" I ask with hope in my voice.

"Of course I do! I wouldn't have said it if I didn't." he laughs out.

Really excited, I ask Natsu next, "Can we start tomorrow then? After I get settled in?"

"Sounds like a plan!" he agrees cheerfully. "So let's get home and get some sleep! Man, I'm feeling tired. Cleaning up is hard work." Natsu whines like a little kid. I laugh lightly while shaking my head at him. We walk along the streets in companionable silence, only hearing the sounds of our footsteps echoing through the streets. Minutes tick by and all of my earlier emotions are slowly replaced by a deep feeling of content. Clouds start to cover the moon, reducing what little visibility there was.

Barely able to see anything, I step closer to Natsu and wave out a hand trying to make contact. I feel cloth and quickly grasp it feeling better now that I have an anchor. I feel his pace slow down as he lights a flame on the end of two of his fingers. The light is slight, but enough that I can see my way. I smile to myself at the flames as I follow him outside of town.

_ This should be very dangerous, a man I barely know leading me to his house outside of town in the dark. Yet, I don't have a care in the world. _I look over at Natsu and watch how the light of the flickering flames dance over his face. _I trust him. I don't know why, but I trust this man. _Sensing my gaze, he turns to look at me before giving a carefree grin. I feel my cheeks heat up at the sight as we walk into the woods. _Wow. That grin. Just wow._

Before I know it, we reach a small home with a wooden door. He opens it gently and holds a finger up to his lips to tell me to be quiet. I nod in agreement before he lets me in. With so little light, it is hard to see anything about the house. Long shadows are cast all over the place making strange shapes dance along the walls. He leads me to a couch like piece of furniture that has a pillow and a blanket of sorts on it. Still quiet, he motions me over to the couch. _Ahh, so this is to be my bed for the night. Better than a wooden bench, that's for sure._

He turns away to go to what looks like a hammock hanging between a pole and the wall when I feel a tug on my hand which stops him. _I forgot. I was holding onto his clothes ever since the clouds rolled in. _He turns back to me with a questioning look in his eyes. I let go of his scarf with a smile. Before I could have second thoughts, I stand on tip-toes and lean in to give him a peck on the cheek.

"Thank you, for everything." I whisper as quietly as I can. Turning around, I start to make up my 'bed' without waiting for his reaction. As I lay down and make myself comfortable as I can on the couch, I hear cloth rustling from the other side of the room. I close my eyes and let exhaustion pull me into much needed sleep.

* * *

Warm.

As I wake up, that is the first thing that I notice. I feel so content and warm that I snuggle deeper into my pillow wanting to just stay there as long as I can. I scratch my nose as it itches, and before I know it, it itches again. I start to wake up more now. Taking in a deep breath, the smell of wood smoke and spices overtake my senses. Oddly calming despite my dislike of smoke. I settle deeper into the pillow, inhaling the smell. Something tickles my nose, like a fly fluttering around so I swat at it. I can hear slight giggling coming from nearby. Another tickle with another swat by me followed by more stifled giggles.

_ Hmm? Ok, what's going on? _Quiet shushing with another giggle follows more stuff landing on my nose. _Oh, so that's what's going on. The little scamps. _My nose starts itching like crazy, but I ignore it. The giggling quickly stops and with it a renewal of the tickling. I clench my hand under the covers trying to ignore the itching while waiting. _Almost, just a little bit more…._ When I can almost sense that whoever it is starts leaning in close to me, I take in as deep as a breath as I can.

Erupting out of the covers, I let out as mighty of a roar as I can to scare whoever has been plaguing my nose with itchy stuff. Natsu and Happy are holding onto each other in fear as I wave my arms wildly at them while still roaring. Before I know it, I feel like I'm falling and my roar turns into a shriek as I fall. Waving my arms in panic at the sudden turn of events I forget to catch myself as I land face first into the floor. Pain explodes across my face as I feel more than hear odd, loud, crunching sounds. I cry out loudly as I turn over to get off of my face. Tears well up in my eyes at the stabbing pain. My legs thump on the floor, but I don't care as I hold onto my face with both hands.

"Ow." I whimper out in pain. I can hear loud rambunctious laughter from two different voices. Ignoring them, I just squeeze my eyes shut as I lay there in suffering. I'm gritting my teeth to keep my from crying at how much it hurts. Warmth starts falling down my face and a familiar taste enters my slightly open mouth.

Blood.

_ Oh shit. _I take my hands off my face to see blood covering them. Using my bloodiest hand to cover my face again, I use my other one to push myself up into a sitting position up against the couch. The laughter abruptly stops.

"Krysti? Are you ok?" I hear Happy's voice quiver in uncertainty.

"No." I whine out at them in a muffled voice. Tears are streaming down my face along with blood as I turn to face the two males and soon their eyes bug out. _Looks like they see the blood._ I remove my hand from my face and wipe both of them on my pants. After somewhat cleaning them, I pull the neckline of my gown up over my face to start wiping off the blood.

Pain explodes from my nose as soon as I touch it and I let loose a loud howl of, "FUCK! OWWW! OW! FUCK! MY NOSE! OWWW!", before I could stop myself. Quickly letting go of my nose in favor of less pain, I squeeze my eyes shut again waiting for the throbbing to die down. Frantic footfalls zoom around me and I open one eye to peek at the activities. Through the wateriness of my eyes, I realize that I'm laying on the floor again and I can feel the blood sliding down the back of my throat.

The dragon slayer and his cat are running around like crazy, throwing stuff around like they are searching for something. The throbbing my nose lessens and I open both of my eyes now. _Damn, never had this happen before. Hope I didn't break it. Although I'm pretty sure I did. _Raising the neckline of my gown again, I carefully start wiping the blood off of my face while avoiding my nose. A cry of triumph takes my mind away from cleaning the blood off of me.

I see Happy flying right at me with a cloth in his paws, with a frantic look on his face. Before I can say anything, the cloth is thrown in my face. Normally, this would never been a problem, but unfortunately this was not a normal situation. I let out another cry in pain as the cloth sets off a new wave of throbbing agony. I yank it off quickly and curl up into a ball with my arms around my head to protect my face from more abuse. Intended or not.

"I'm sorry! I'm sorry!" I hear a voice cry out. I ignore it in lieu to focus on easing the pain. _Ow, dammit. This hurts. _I hear more voices talking that I continue to ignore. Two strong arms wrapping around me jostles me and causes my nose to bump into my legs. Stabbing pain lances through me and its all I can do to not faint. I can hear a loud, high pitched noise from nearby and soon my throat begins to hurt. My vision is blurry and I see a pink and blue blur in front of me.

_ What's going on…? _Sunlight and wind is soon felt on my face. But the blurs stay in place. I hear rapid thumping, and my head throbs with it. My body feels like it is being jerked around rapidly and my vision darkens. The pain lessens as darkness overcomes me.

* * *

It was another normal morning at the Fairy Tail wizard's guild. Mirajane was behind the bar, serving food and drinks. Levy was with Lucy chatting about their favorite books, Gray was busy talking to Cana while she drank heavily. Macao and Wakaba were talking about the good ole days and everyone else were going through their morning routines.

Yep, just another normal day.

Until a sudden crashing from the entrance catches everyone's attention. Natsu is standing there breathing heavily with a bloodied and unconscious Krysti in his straining arms. Looking frantically around, he sees Mirajane and rushes over to the bar.

"Mira! Krysti fell and got hurt! She needs help!" he shouts out anxiously. He lays down the hurt brunette gently, trying not to hurt her more. Everyone rushes over to see what happened to their newest member.

"Oh my! What happened to her!?" Mira exclaims.

"Its all my fault!" cries out an obviously upset Happy. "I was trying to wake her up by using my tail to tickle her nose when she suddenly shot up and then fell on her face." he starts crying harder and flies into Lucy's arms, seeking comfort.

"She needs to go to a hospital!" calls out Macao.

""Jet!" cries out Levy.

"On it!" he answers, before straining to pick up the plump woman and using his magic, speeds off to the hospital as fast as his namesake. Following close behind him was most of the guild that was there this morning. Thankfully, it was a slow day at the hospital so there was no wait when an exhausted Jet makes it to the lobby. The nurses quickly take charge of the injured woman and they take her deep into the building while leaving Jet in the lobby.

He takes a seat while stretching out the aches in his arms and back, unused to carrying anything while running. A few short minutes later, the majority of the guild shows up at the hospital. Jet moves over to them as they catch their breath from their frantic sprinting.

"She is already admitted, there is a doctor with her right now." He tells them calmly.

"Thank god!" Natsu shouts out in ragged relief. Seeing all the blood on Krysti and having her pass out on shook him up more than the others realized. Erza clamps her hand on the dragon slayer's shoulder.

"Tell us exactly what happened. From the beginning." she demands in no uncertain terms and a hard stare on her face.

"Y-yea." he starts off a bit shakily, still catching his breath and terrified of the look the red-head was giving him. "She was sleeping on my couch and Happy and I thought it would be funny to wake her up by having her slap herself awake. We used Happy's tail to tickle her nose. She swatted at it a few times before she shot up out of the couch roaring at us. Before we knew it, she fell on her face and it wasn't until she sat up that we saw all the blood." he ends in a guilty tone. Lucy, Levy, and a few others gasp at the mention of the blood for they were too far back to see the brunette's blood covered face and clothes.

Taking a deep, calming breath, Natsu continues, "Happy found a rag for her face, but she kept screaming in pain. I did the only thing I could think of and that was bring her to the guild. She passed out along the way." He looks down at the ground sullenly at this point. A nurse with a clipboard walks in at this point asking for Jet. He, along with the rest of the guild, surround her within a blink of an eye to find out what's going on. Looking uncomfortable as she glances around nervously at the crowd of people surrounding her, she focuses on Jet before speaking.

"The young lady that you brought in will be fine. She just has a broken nose and the doctor is setting right now." At this news, a collective breath is let out in relief. The nurse continues on in a professional manner. "She is however going to be in a lot of pain, so for now we have on strong painkillers. The doctor believes that it will be best for her to stay the rest of the day and the night to help make sure that nothing else happens while her nose is at this tender stage. Is any of her family present?"

"We are her family." Erza states. The nurse blinks at this.

"Um, no. I mean her blood relations. We need them to fill out some forms." the nurse replies back a bit hesitant. Erza shakes her head in denial.

"She doesn't have any blood relations. We are the only family she has." she clarifies. The nurse nods at this, used to the way family works with Fairy Tail, before she hands Erza the forms.

"Please complete them the best you can. Leave it on the counter there and I'll be back to pick it up later." The nurse then bows a bit before going back into the hospital. After hearing the good news that the brunette will be ok, most of the guild members trickle back out of the hospital to update the rest of the guild. Just before Levy leaves, she stops and hurries back to Natsu who is still staring at the floor with clenched fists.

"Oh Natsu, before I forget I wanted to give you this." she hands him a bag that she was carrying on her shoulder. The action brings him out of whatever thoughts he was having.

"Huh?" he says before picking up the bag and sniffing it. "What is it?"

"It's the reward money from the Changeling spell mission. Well, most of it. I took enough for rent and a few other little things." Levy explained.

"I can't take this Levy. You're the one who solved the message, not me. It's yours." Natsu states as he pushes the bag back towards the short girl. Levy smiled and stepped back from Natsu as she shook her head.

"You said you were planning on using it to help Krysti. I want to help her too, that's why I'm giving it to you." She giggles before adding. "At the very least it will help with the hospital bills."

The pink-haired man gives Levy a big open-eyed grin before saying cheerfully, "Ah. Thank you Levy. This will help out a lot."

"Think nothing of it Natsu, anything to help out a friend." she chirps very happily while holding her hands behind her back. "Tell her that I hope she feels better soon! I'll be by later to visit!" she shouts out while almost skipping out of the building with Jet and Droy following close behind her like lost puppies. Silence soon falls as the last of the Fairy Tail members depart which leaves Lucy, Gray, Happy, Erza, and Natsu in the lobby.

They go and take seats at different points of the lobby, waiting for news of their newest friend. Erza already completed the forms since they don't know much about Krysti, medically at least. The nurse quietly retrieved the forms without alerting any of the anxious people as to when she has taken them.

Close to an hour passes in silence, as each of the team members are lost in their thoughts. Footsteps echo in the hallway and everyone lifts their head up in expectation, hopeful for news. A middle-aged looking gentleman with slight graying at the temples of his blonde hair walks in. He looks up from a clipboard that he is carrying to look at the people in the lobby.

"Friends of Krystina, I'm assuming?" he asks in a low gentle voice. Shooting up from their seats, the Fairy Tail guild mates rush over to surround the doctor.

"Is she ok!?" Gray loudly exclaims. Not fazed in the slightest, the doctor laughs in the same gentle tone.

"Yes, she will be fine. Her nose was only broken, so we put her on some strong painkillers while we were fixing her nose. It was enough so she wouldn't feel it. Everything is fine now, she just needs to stay tonight to let everything set." he explains calmly. As he spoke, everyone's face sprouts a happily relieved face.

"Can we go see her?" asks Happy as he floats just behind Natsu.

"Is she awake?" asks Lucy at the same time.

The doctor looks at them both before addressing their questions, "Ah, yes. She is awake, but I wouldn't suggest visiting her today."

"Eh!? Why the hell not!?" loudly asks a fuming dragon slayer. At this the doctor looks slightly sheepish which worries the others.

"Well, uh… it seems that she doesn't have much tolerance for painkillers. As I said, we put her on some fairly strong ones which knocked her out as to allow us to set her nose. She woke up not soon after we moved her to her room…and uh… well…" he trails off unsure how to proceed.

"Well?" asks Erza in a very stern tone. The doctor takes a deep breath before he plunges in.

"Well, the painkillers have caused her to be very, I guess we could say loopy?" he says with a slightly nervous laugh.

"Loopy?" asks Lucy in a soft questioning tone.

"Yes. Loopy. She is completely out of it. She has been talking to the nurses, but is not making any sense at all. I can't understand anything she is talking about. She kept getting out of the bed despite multiple times telling her to stay put. It if wasn't for the fact that we put restraints on her, she would probably be trying to dance around the halls." he says in an almost defeated voice. Hearing this, the rest of the group become slightly mortified and exasperated.

"That sounds like Krysti alright." says Happy in a sagely way.

"We would give her some pills to let her sleep it off, but I'm leery of giving her more medication with the amount of painkillers in her. Normally this wouldn't be a problem but with her reaction towards the painkillers, I don't want to add any possible complications that might arise." The doctor explains.

"That sounds like a good idea, who knows what she would do under additional medication." agrees Gray before he slightly blushes at some thought he had while he stands there suddenly shirtless.

"What are you thinking about, pervert!?" Natsu scolds, noticing the blush on his rival's face.

"I'm not thinking about anything, flame-brain! And who are you calling a pervert?" Gray retorts in a louder voice. Immediately the two are butting foreheads as usual when they are having fights.

"You're the pervert, droopy-eyes! You're half-naked with a blush on your face, that makes you a pervert!" Natsu almost shouts back.

"Like you're one to talk ash-breath! You're practically half-naked yourself with that open jacket you wear all the time!" Gray shouts angrily back. As the two boys growl at each other, Erza walks up between them and with a loud clang, hits them both hard on the head. They both fall face first to the ground with their butts up in the air and one leg twitching.

"Quiet both of you! This is a hospital. A place to rest and recover. Not a place to fight. Understood?" she barks out quite loudly. The hospital staff along with Lucy and Happy shrink back in fear at the armored red-head, not daring to contradict her that she too is being loud as well.

"I am sorry for the disturbance that these two ill-mannered boys have caused. I won't let this happen again." Erza states with her usual no-nonsense manner. The doctor looks askance at the two boys just pulling themselves up off the floor before coughing to try to clear the awkward air. Clearing his throat, he takes a deep breath and regains his professionalism.

"If you can come back tomorrow morning, the medication should've run its course and we can put her on much weaker painkillers as she heals. She should be ready to be discharged by then." explains the doctor. Erza nods in agreement.

"Ok, we will be back tomorrow to pick her up. Thank you Doctor…" she trails off slightly.

"Shibiwa. Doctor Shibiwa."

* * *

I wake to the smell of slightly stale air with a chemical clean scent. Groggily, I open my eyes to see a blurry white ceiling and white walls. _Man, another weird dream. I swear my imagination scares me at times. What the hell was my brain on to dream up a Judoon from Doctor Who to be dressed as Miss Piggy from the Muppets and singing love ballards to the Lucky Charms leprechaun?_ _And what the hell was that other weird dream? Shooting stars and a giant guy with a huge weird moustache… _

I yawn quite loudly before I go to rub the sleep out of my eyes only to find out that I can't move my arms. The shock wakes me up completely and I look down at my body to see 3 sets of straps holding me down

"What the hell!" I exclaim loudly. _Why the hell am I strapped to some sort of hospital bed?_ I struggle in my bonds, wanting to get out. I use my weight to start rocking the bed trying to tip myself over when a nurse hurries in at the commotion.

"Miss Krystina! What ever are you doing!?" she cries out shrilly.

"Why the hell am I strapped down!?" I shout back louder, not stopping my struggles. The nurse throws herself on the bed in attempt to stop the rocking.

"We had to! You wouldn't stay in your bed to rest after we finished setting your nose!" she shouts back. At this, I stop trying to free myself. Now I'm feeling perplexed. _Setting my nose? _I voice my question and the nurse, looking relieved that I stopped, answers, "Yes. Yesterday you were brought in unconscious with a broken nose and we gave you some strong painkillers so you would stay asleep as we fixed it up for you." She takes a calming breath while straightening out her clothes.

"You woke up a short while afterwards and you were having an unusual reaction to the mediation that was still in your system." she finishes.

Feeling worried, I slowly ask, "Unusual reaction?"

She nods then clarifies, "You were acting very silly and saying the most ridiculous things. And you refused to stay in bed. In fact, if we didn't restrain you then you probably would have been running around doing who knows what in the hallways. The doctor was afraid you would re-injure yourself so we had to do this." Feeling extremely embarrassed, my cheeks heat up while I look down in shame.

"I'm so sorry to have caused so much trouble for everyone." I whisper out feeling my cheeks warm from the embarrassment.

The nurse just laughs it off, "Oh no need to worry, it was quite entertaining to watch. Even though we didn't understand most of what you were talking about. Mostly we were just worried you would've injured yourself further. Honestly, I never seen anyone react the way you did to the painkillers. Usually it would either knock out patients completely or just leave them in a slight daze." I sink further into the bed at this. Seeing my embarrassment, she pats me on the head in a gentle, reassuring way.

"Oh come now, it wasn't all that bad. At least we were able to keep your friends from seeing your antics." I look up in surprise.

"My friends?" I question. She nods happily.

"Yes, they were quite worried about you, the poor dears. Dr. Shibiwa convinced them that it would be better to wait until today to see you, so the medication would have time to run its course." She leans in closer for a conspiratorial whisper. "That and to give you time to get back to normal so you wouldn't be embarrassing yourself in front of them." I nod gratefully to her. _Thank god for small miracles. Natsu and Happy would never let me live it down._

She winks before adding, "Especially those two good looking guys." I blush at that. I cough to try to clear out the additional embarrassment caused by that last remark.

"Thank ya'll very much. It's very kind for ya'll to of thought about my feelings in such a manner." I say, feeling extremely thankful while my cheeks still feel quite warm.

"So how are you feeling, dearie?" the nurse asks me cheerfully. I mentally go through a checklist on how each part of my body is feeling, wanting to give her a truthful and complete answer.

"Hmm, besides starving and needing the bathroom, I feel just fine." I tell her after a moment's thought.

"Well let's get one of those taken care of." she says with a chuckle as she goes to release my straps. Quickly and efficiently she lets me out of my restraints to which I immediately start stretching. _Nothing like a real good stretch after not moving for a while. _I hop out of bed and onto the cold floor to finish the stretches and popping of my joints. The nurse raises her eyebrow at all the crackling and popping noises as my body limbers up.

I give her a sheepish grin after I finish while scratching my cheek. She rolls her eyes and grins back, causing the both of us to laugh. Moving off to the side, she points out where the bathroom is located at the other end of the room. As I start walking I immediately notice a breeze where there should not be one. I quickly turn to face her, feeling my cheeks heat up like crazy.

She laughs at my reaction as I find out that I'm wearing a hospital gown. _Just like the ones at home. Oh thank god they kept me from running down the halls dressed like this. _My blush turns up a notch at my next thought. _What if Natsu and the others saw….? _I let out a squeak and run to the bathroom while holding the back of the gown as closed as possible.

Slamming the door shut, I can hear the nurse's laughter through the wooden door. _Oh gods. I could've done without that bit of embarrassment. _Swiftly, I take care of the reason why I wanted to use the restroom in the first place. Washing my hands afterwards, I look up into the mirror to see that the middle of my face is bandaged and that they go all the way around my head. Tentatively, I reach up to touch my nose and jerk back with a hiss of pain. _Ok, now I know. No touchy the nose at all. _I sigh as I see that my cheeks are still quite pink.

_Geez, I don't know why I was so embarrassed that she saw my bare backside. She is a nurse after all and more than likely seen a lot more than what I was showing. That and it's not like I'm ashamed of my body. Sure I can stand to lose some weight, but its not like I'm morbidly obese. Usually I'm much more comfortable with people seeing my body. _I shake my head at the thought. _Maybe its just something to do with the hospital and I didn't know I was in a gown until too late._

I give myself time for a fortifying breath and I leave the bathroom to see an unknown male standing in the room with the nurse. I stand in the doorway looking at him as he whispers about something on a clipboard with her. She glances up to see me and smiles widely.

"Ah, Miss Krystina! I was just telling Dr. Shibiwa about you." she says perkily.

I nod before moving over to the taller male, mindful of my exposed rear end and where it is pointed. I extend my hand to shake his while giving him a warm smile.

"It is a pleasure to meet you, Dr. Shibiwa. I want to thank you for everything you and the rest of the staff has done for me. I also want to apologize for my actions and the trouble I caused." I say this last bit bashfully and look down at the ground as I let go of his hand.

"It is not a problem, Miss Krystina. We here at Magnolia Hospital are always happy to be able to take care of our patients in any way that we can." he says in a pleasantly low voice. At this, I lift my eyes and take a good look at this man. Warm eyes are the first thing I see. The color of deep jade, with flecks of brown in them. Laugh lines around his eyes and neatly kept blonde hair are the next things I see. Slight graying at his temples tells me that he is an older man, but not that much older. The sight of his smile causes a slight tingle spread through my body.

I give him a much warmer smile as I reply, "And I really appreciate everything that you did. Thank you so much." A cough from the far end of the room catches our attention. Natsu is standing in the doorway glowering in my direction while Lucy and Happy are smirking.

_ Now what are they up to this time? _Despite my thought, I give them a happy grin.

"Morning guys. Didn't expect ya'll so early." I chirp.

"Early?" Lucy snickers. "Could barely make this guy here leave the lobby yesterday. Would've slept here if we let him" she continued while pointing at the disgruntled guy next to her. He looks more angry at her comment and looks away to stare at a blank wall. I'm surprised at her statement. _He was that worried? How bad was I hurt? _Still mindful of the back of my gown, I walk towards Natsu.

"Is that true, Natsu?" I gently ask him, trying to make eye contact. He just huffs and puffs his face out slightly.

"Aye, sir! Erza had to drag him out to have him get some sleep." Happy cheerfully tattles. Feeling saddened that I caused this much worry, I step up quickly and catch him in a hug. I feel his body stiffen at this.

"Kr-Krysti?" he says hesitantly.

"I'm sorry that I worried you this much, Natsu. I can't recall what exactly happened, but I'm sorry nonetheless. I never meant to cause anyone to worry about me." I rest my cheek on his shoulder, careful not to have my nose touch anything. His arms slowly move up and wrap me in a warm embrace. I didn't realize how cold the room or I was until then. I partly melt into him just enjoying the warmth.

"It was mostly my fault, you shouldn't have to apologize. I'm the one who should be saying sorry." he says a bit sadly. I pull away enough to look up in his eyes. He gives me a startled look at my sudden action.

"It doesn't matter whose fault it was. What's done is done and I'm fine. Time heals all wounds, and this one will be just fine as well." I close my eyes and smile widely. "Anyways it's just nice to know that someone cares about me so much. Thank you, Natsu." I open my eyes at this point without dropping my smile. He looks at me in surprise before pulling away while turning to look elsewhere. He blushes and has a bashful expression on his face. I slightly pout, missing his warmth.

"We-well of course I c-care, you're family after all." he slightly stutters.

I lightly laugh at his reaction while agreeing, "Yup, family." Lucy claps her hands in happiness and smirks over at us. Before I can figure out what that particular smirk meant, a throat clears and we look over to see Dr. Shibiwa getting our attention with an amused grin on his face. _Oh my. He looks really handsome with that grin._

"Sorry to interrupt, but before anything else I will need you to finish filling in this paperwork. Your family wasn't able to complete it yesterday and you were… indisposed until this morning." he informs while holding out the clipboard in my direction. I blush knowing what he is hinting at.

"Sure thing, Dr. Shibiwa. I'll take care of it." I say while walking back over to him. I hear Lucy gasp and Happy sniggering. I look over my shoulder to see her pointing a shaking finger at me and Natsu has a huge red blush on his face. "What's wrong?" I ask, slightly turning back towards them.

"Umm, your gown…." Lucy says weakly as she starts blushing and her hand falls.

"Eh? My gown?" I repeat. _Why would she be worried about my gown…? Oh,. OH! _I blush as well while twirling to hide the back of my gown. Both sides of it is now clenched tightly in my fists as I bring them together so I'm no longer mooning anyone. The doctor gives a hearty chuckle over our reactions as he hands me the clipboard.

I grin sheepishly over at him as I take the clipboard in one hand while the other holds both sides of my gown together. My sheepish smile turns into a real one and I let out a small laugh at the look of warm amusement in his eyes. _He is definitely a handsome man. If he is my doctor, maybe I should get hurt more often. _I blush hard at that last thought.

"They lllllike each other!" Happy and Lucy cry softly in unison which causes me to look down in slight embarrassment at being caught admiring the doctor's looks. I hear an annoyed huff coming from Natsu, and I look over to see him glaring slightly at Dr. Shibiwa.

_ Ok, what is with that look? It's like he doesn't like the doctor. That's odd though, he seems like a nice guy. Nice and handsome, probably really smart too…_ I mentally kick myself out of that thought process to concentrate on the forms in my hand while my cheeks heat up a bit more. The nurse is already gone by now as I move backwards to sit on the bed. Still smiling warmly, Dr. Shibiwa leaves the room as well but not before saying he would be back soon with the release forms and instructions for at-home care.

After he leaves the room, the tension in the air relaxes while Lucy and Happy follow me to sit on the bed as well. Natsu moves closer to lean up against the wall next to me. Sitting back against the headboard, I rest the clipboard on one leg while the other leg hangs off the edge. Leaning forward, I start to look over the form only to remember that I can't read it.

"Umm, I'm going to need some help." I say lamely.

"Help with what, Krysti?" asks Lucy curiously.

I lift up the clipboard as I tell her, "Uh, I can't read this."

"Oh! Sure, I'll help you with that." she chirps. She scoots up to sit next to me and leans over to look at the questions. We go through each question quickly, although she does blush quite a bit when we get to the more, feminine questions. It doesn't help that Happy starts to ask about those particular questions.

Hushing the curious cat, I do notice one odd thing, it doesn't ask about my last period as most forms I'm used to seeing. _Huh. Wonder what that's about? Oh well, I'm certain they have their reasons. _We sit in silence after the forms are finished, waiting patiently for someone to come back.

"So Krysti," says Lucy, trying to break the silence, "what are your plans today after you get out?" she asks.

I reply absentmindedly, "I dunno. Maybe whatever I was gunna do yesterday before I messed that up."

"And what was that?" she inquires. I look over at her as I frown in thought. I shake my head negatively before wincing slightly in pain. _2nd memo to self: don't shake your head hard._

"Can't remember what it was. Hey Natsu, do you know what I was gunna do yesterday?" I call out to the guy next to me.

"We were going to train together to get stronger! Umm, I think there was something to do about settling in first, I think?" he starts off excitedly then trails off in thought.

"Ah! That's right! I was going to get settled then train with ya." I smack myself lightly on the forehead, careful to avoid my nose. "Can't believe I forgot that."

"Krysti, you shouldn't be forgetting stuff like this. That's Lucy's job!" seriously states Happy.

"You crappy cat!" shouts an enraged Lucy.

"Fufufufufu!" laughs the blue cat as he flies out of reach of the angry blonde. She huffs out in annoyance before turning to me.

"So what is with this sudden need for training?" she asks, still feeling miffed.

I let my attention wander as I hear a revved up Natsu start telling Lucy about the run-in that I had with the drunk. I chuckle to myself at his energy. I feel a paw on my leg and I look up to see Happy giving me his intense look.

"You lllllike him." Happy says. I raise an eyebrow in confusion.

"I thought we went over this. Of course I like him. I wouldn't be rooming with him if I didn't like him." I tell the cat matter-of-factly. Happy shakes his head in denial.

"I mean the doctor. You lllllllike him." Happy clarifies. I feel a bit of heat on my cheeks that I hope is hidden by the bandages.

"Well he is a nice guy, why wouldn't I like him? He seems like he would be a good friend." I say nonchalantly to the little blue cat. Happy just gives me a look of disappointment before flying over to land on Natsu's shoulder. I smirk to myself.

_ I know your game now silly little cat. Gunna have to do a lot better than that if you want to get me flustered. _Stretching my arms over my head, I arch my back until my spine pops. I let out a satisfied sigh and I close my eyes to lean back against the headboard to relax. Instead, I fall against something soft and warm against my bare back.

"Huh?" is what I say as I open my eyes in surprise to find that Natsu was face to face with me and had on a large grin.

"Hey, hey Krysti. How long does this 'settling down' take? I want to get to training to get stronger!" he asks me excitedly. I can't help but smile back with his contagious happiness.

"Well that depends on how much stuff I have and how much room I'm allowed to use. It shouldn't take long at all since all I have is the clothes on my…." I trail off. "Hey, where are my clothes?" I start looking around to see if they are hiding anywhere.

"You mean these clothes?" asks the nurse as she enters the room with my clothes neatly folded up.

"Ah! Thank you….uh." I trail off again, realizing that I didn't know her name.

"Saiya. My name is Saiya Kaname. And you're very welcome, Miss Krystina. Dr. Shibiwa is almost done and will be back shortly." she informs us pleasantly.

"Saiya. That's a beautiful name. Thank you Miss Saiya, for everything." I tell her gratefully as I take my clothes out of her arms. I look down and let out a small sigh of relief to see my iPod and earbuds on top of the clothes. Nurse Saiya then turns around to leave the room and I face Natsu again.

I lift up my clothes for emphasize as I continue our conversation, "This is all I have, so I guess I just need a tour around the house, know the rules and then that's that, I guess." I end with an awkward shrug.

Natsu takes his arm away as he almost bounces up and down in excitement and starts to babble about the training he wants to do that so fast that I can barely understand him. Lucy and I share a small laugh at his antics. I smile over at him, feeling quite amused at my roommate. I look down at my clothes and grab the sweatpants intending on putting them on.

I step off of the bed and with a flick of my wrist, unfold my pants. I turn them around so they are in the right direction. Bending down, I quickly step into the leg holes and just as fast I pull them up. The immense feeling of confidence and security has me let out another sigh in relief.

"Ahhh, that is so much better now!" I say feeling quite happy and much better about my situation. _It's a wonder how much better a simple pair of pants can make one feel, especially after going basically bare-arsed in front of everyone. If I can get some regular clothes to wear, I would probably be ecstatic. _I make a grab for my gown and as I unfold it, I recoil in horror at the amount of blood on it.

_ Holy shit! I bled that much!? No wonder they were worried about me! How the hell did I break my nose and do that?! _Unknowingly, I voiced my last thought and Natsu's voice breaks through, catching my attention.

"Uh, well… Happy and I tried to make you wake yourself up by tickling your nose and having you smack your face." he looks down and rubs his neck out of embarrassment before continuing. "And well, you suddenly jumped up and roared to scare us. You must've leaned too far over because you then fell face first onto the floor. We didn't know you were actually hurt until you sat up and we saw the blood." He looks like a little kid about to get scolded now.

"You wouldn't answer us, so in a panic, I picked you up and ran you over to the guild, then they had Jet run you over here."

His head lowers as he mumbles out some apology that I can't really hear. _Hmm, so I tried to scare them in the middle of their wake up prank. Then I fell over and hurt myself. Yup. Sounds just like me and my luck. _I look over at Natsu and I place my hands gently on his shoulders to catch his attention while giving him an encouraging smile.

"Hey, it was mostly an accident ok? Things happen, and lord knows that with how many times I have been hit in the face that sooner or later I was going to break my nose. So stop looking sorry about it, dragon-boy. Ok?" I use one of my hands to place it under his chin and lift his head up from where he had it hanging low in guilt. In a softer tone I continue, "I'm not blaming you and I'm not blaming me." He perks up with a small grin before nodding in agreement.

I nod my head once and growl out, "Damn right it's ok." I take my hands away from him and step back before realizing how close we were. I feel my face heat up with that realization and I had a sudden desire to hide my noticeably pink cheeks. Without further thought, I take my gown and slide it over my head and over the hospital gown while keeping it high enough that it hides my face.

I work on taking off the hospital gown while my bloody nightgown covers my movements. Finishing getting the gown off and taming the heat in my face, I put my arms into the nightgown's sleeves properly. I then uncover my head while pulling out the hospital gown through the collar. I look over to see the others giving me incredulous looks when I finish.

"What?" I ask them nonchalantly while shrugging. "I didn't feel like walking to the bathroom." I then sit down on the bed again while they just exchanged looks at my answer. I grab my iPod and earbuds and slip them into one of my pockets. A knock sounds from the door and we all look over to see Dr. Shibiwa entering the room with more papers and a small bag. He gives me a look with a raised eyebrow when he sees that I'm wearing my bloody clothes. He coughs a slight bit before handing me the papers.

"These are the release forms, I just need them filled out as best as you can. After that, you're free to leave. Just make sure one of the staff gets it before you go." He then hands me the small paper bag that rattles some in my hands. "And those are some weaker painkillers for you to take for your nose. They should hopefully not give you the same…reaction as the stronger ones did last night." I chuckle a bit nervously, knowing what he was talking about.

"If you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to come back at any time. If I'm not here, then any of the other doctors or nurses can help." His warm tone changes into a more stern, lecture-like one as he continues. "I do however want to see you back in a week so we can check how your nose is doing. It was a nasty break, and I want to make sure that it is healing properly. It is hard to tell right now because of all the swelling, so keep the bandage on at all times. We put a splint on your nose to hopefully let it heal the right way but until the swelling goes down naturally you are not to do anything that could re-injure yourself. That includes no sports, no fighting, no physical labor beyond light household chores, no running, no out of town missions." At this point his stern look hardens along with his tone.

"I know how stubborn you Fairy Tail mages can be, and as your doctor I expressly forbid any of those activities or anything else of that sort. This break was nasty, but if you hurt yourself before you're healed it could become lethal." I nod my head solemnly in agreement.

"Yes, the nasal septum bones could potentially get pushed into my brain which often leads to death." I recite from memory to the doctor. I hear a squeak from behind me as he lifts an eyebrow in surprise as his hard look softens. I smile softly as I think back to my medical courses that I taken over the years. Not enough to qualify, but enough to know what needs to be done for a range of injuries from minor scrapes to short of life-or-death.

"I took a lot of medical training back where I am from." I look down towards the ground and I let my smile fade away as I shrug. "Never know when you are going to need to know these things. Heh, just didn't expect that I was the one who was going to get injured."

"Seriously, Krysti? You can die from a broken nose?" asks a very worried Happy as he floats on his wings to land gently in my lap. I rub his head affectionately as I explain further.

"Normally no. Almost all broken noses aren't going to kill you, but however if these bones here..." I pause to point toward the top of my nose, careful to not touch in case I get another round of stabbing pain. "...get broken and pushed up at an angle, the broken pieces can get pushed into the brain and that will usually lead to death. Not all the time, but fairly often. That's why if you're going to punch someone in the nose, you punch them straight or downwards. Never up." I look away from Happy's watery eyes to look back up at the doctor.

"Am I forgetting anything, doctor?" I ask him curiously, wondering if magic may have a difference in some unknown way.

He has a calculating look in his eyes as he answers, "No, I do believe you have the subject quite covered." I chuckle at this. He looks at me curiously.

"Pun not intended?" I ask with a grin. His eyebrows shoot up as realization hits and he lets out a hearty chuckle.

"Yes. Pun not intended." he agrees with an amused grin. He shakes his head before coughing lightly to get back on track. "Now, I'm certain you know this, but I'm going to say it for the benefit of your friends. Don't get the bandages wet, or we will have to reapply them. That includes steamy hot baths, anything beyond light exercise, or even applying ice to your face. Also, if you experience any more trauma with it, as in getting hit in the face or falling down again, I want you back here as soon as possible. Is that clear?" he asks that last question in a very stern voice, like I'm some kid who doesn't know how to listen.

I just give him a warm smile before answering, "Of course, doctor. Thank you again for everything. I'll be sure to be careful about not letting anything hit me before I'm fully healed." He gives me the warmest smile I have seen yet, which causes another tingle to spread throughout my body. My cheeks heat up a bit as I watch him turn around and walk off. I look at the forms and groan. _More paperwork. Ug._ I grumble slightly to myself before catching Lucy's attention again.

"Hey Lucy, do you mind by any chance?" I ask while pointing at the papers.

She smiles before answering, "Of course not." and just as before, she and I put our heads together to fill out the forms while Happy and Natsu stand back, talking to each other.

A particularly loud , "I am not!" catches the attention of Lucy and I. We look up to see a very red-faced dragon slayer fuming at a very mischievous looking blue cat. I snicker while Lucy shakes her head.

"I wonder what Happy said this time." Lucy wonders quietly. I shrug, not caring at this particular moment.

"I was telling Natsu that I think that he is jealous of the doctor!" loudly proclaims the flying cat.

"I AM NOT!" shouts out Natsu, his face almost tomato red now. Lucy and I exchange looks at Natsu's particularly strong denial of Happy's accusation. "I'm not." he mutters before crosses his arms over his chest and hunching his shoulders, looking away sullenly.

"Happy." I call quietly. The cat turns to look at me just as he was going to say something else. "How about we leave Natsu alone for now, ok? Whether or not is he jealous is his business and we shouldn't pry if he doesn't want to tell us." I continue in the same quiet tone. Happy pouts big-time at this, but he nods in agreement. He goes over and sits in Lucy's lap, still pouting.

The blonde and I chuckle before we go back to the forms, but not before I see a grateful smile on Natsu's face. Luckily, it seems all the rest is just reading about different ways to take care of various injuries. _Kinda smart, has the people read basic first aid, so they are less likely to show up with minor wounds that are easy to take care of. But some of this is outdated. I mean seriously, using butter on a burn is just a bad idea. Maybe I should make it a point to come back to share what medical knowledge I know to help them out…_

A few minutes of listening to Lucy read, and finally everything is done. I sign at the back of the forms to say that I 'read' the papers before I straighten them out in a neat pile. I hop out of bed with the papers firmly held in one hand while lifting the other one over my head.

"No more paperwork! Yay!" I cry out happily. My stomach growls out loudly, causing me to lower my head in embarrassment. "Heh. Guess I'm hungry." I explain lamely while the other three laugh at me.

"Let's go eat!" yells out an over enthusiastic fire mage as he grabs my arm and starts dragging me out the door. I hop on one leg as I try to turn myself in the direction he is pulling me.

"Hold it!" Lucy shouted. Natsu halts suddenly at Lucy's shout which causes me to crash into him, side-first. We stagger at the impact, but he steadies the both of us quickly with an arm around my waist. I hiss in slight pain before shooting a grateful smile in his direction as Lucy started to lecture.

"We can't have her go out and eat dressed like that! We need to get her some new clothes that aren't covered in blood. I mean it looks like she just came back from killing someone." the blonde states with her hands on her hips.

I mutter softly, "And 'she' is right here." before I look over at Lucy as I say louder, "Wouldn't it look just as bad while clothes shopping?"

Lucy looks a little taken aback by that before she plows on, "Yes, but there will be a lot less people at the clothes shop during this time of day and easier to explain away the blood."

I think this over before replying, "That sounds reasonable. Only problem is that I don't have any money for new clothes. So until I can earn some, I'm stuck with these."

"Don't worry about that! We got plenty of it for you to use!" says Happy cheerfully.

"I don't want you guys to use your money to buy me stuff. It wouldn't be right…" I try to protest before getting cut off.

"We went and got some from a mission just to use to help you. So it's ok. If getting you some new clothes is the fastest way to get some food, let's do it!" Natsu says excitedly.

"Seriously? You guys did that for me? Aww, thank you! I'll do my best to work hard to pay you back!" I cry tearfully before giving everyone a big hug.

* * *

The four friends left the hospital but not before making sure to hand over the paperwork to a passing nurse and paying the bill at the lobby. When everything at the hospital was taken care of, Lucy takes the lead and marches off with a spring in her step. The other 3 follow the blonde girl of their group to a small shop a few streets over. Going inside, three faces recoil in horror while the fourth looks in bliss.

Pink.

Everywhere and almost everything is covered in pink, lace, and frills. Super excited, Lucy grabs Krysti's arm and drags her deeper into the store. Unable to break the grip on her arm, Krysti looks back and stretches out a hand with a silent plea to the dragon slayer to save her from the horrors of the shop. Looking traumatized, the boy and the cat stand by the door trembling in fear as the females disappear within the bowels of the shop of feminine hell.

"Lucy! Sweetheart! Come here dear and give Auntie Vi a hug!" A high, nasally voice calls out. Both girls look over to see a tall, super thin, and inappropriately dressed for her age older woman heading quickly their way. Lucy brightens up and steps into the hug of the shop owner. "If I'd known you were coming this early I would of had tea ready." Auntie Vi quite happily declares. Krysti hangs in the back, inching towards the door in the hopes to get away before she is spotted.

No luck.

When the owner noticed the larger woman nearby her happy expression turns to one of horror and disgust. No small wonder though, Krysti was dirty and unkempt, her clothes were covered in blood and dear lord, she was barefoot. The woman who calls herself Auntie Vi has to hold herself back from shuddering.

"Um, Lucy dear..." she hesitantly calls out. "Who is your...friend?" she says the last word like it pained her to say.

Not noticing or ignoring the shop owner's tone, Lucy replies happily, "This is the newest member of Fairy Tail and friend, Krysti. We are here to shop for new clothes for her."

"Really." Auntie Vi said with much less enthusiasm than when she greeted the blonde. Lucy nods while heading to her friend and grabbing her arm to drag her over to the much older lady.

"Yes, she is going to need an entire new wardrobe." Lucy continues in a sad voice, again ignoring how uncomfortable the other women look with each other. "She lost her whole family and everything she owns to a bandit attack during the night. My team and I found the poor thing in the woods hurt and scared while we were on our way back from a mission. We couldn't just leave her alone with no money, or way to support herself and only the clothes on her back. We let her join the guild so she can have a place to stay until she can get back on her feet. She just now got out of the hospital after treating her wounds."

At first Krysti looks confused at what Lucy is telling the other woman, before quickly picking up that it would be much easier to believe that she a victim of bandits than from another world. She is impressed at the blonde's storytelling skills and realizes she needs to play her part. So she starts acting in what she hopes is a believable way to help sell the story.

Very quickly, the shop owner looks at the frightened looking brunette in a new light. Her heart aches at the look of unshed tears in the young girl's eyes and snatches her up in a tight hug. The brunette is very stiff at first, but timidly starts to hug back with shaky arms.

"Oh you poor, poor dear! What horrors you have seen! I can't imagine what you had to go through! So much loss and so soon and at such a young age!" the shop owner wails out. Krysti thinks about what she really has lost, and she lets out a small sob before clutching onto the woman's thin frame even tighter. This is the first time she is letting herself feel the sorrow of her situation and it hits her quickly and hard. The older woman lays her head on top of the brunette's and gently rubs her back.

A quiet "There, there." is heard occasionally as Krysti pours out her heart.

Hearing the sobs, Lucy's eyes also tear up and she too joins the women with a hug to offer comfort to the girl who in fact did lose everything but the clothes on her back. After some minutes of crying, the brunette's cries calm down until she is just sniffling. She eases off on the tight hold she had on Auntie Vi, and sensing that she is better the other women gently release their hold as well. They don't back away and stay close to Krysti in case she breaks down again. She sniffles and looks up into Auntie Vi's face with a look of gratitude.

"Thank you ma'am." she says quietly before hugging the shop owner again. The older woman returns the hug with a laugh.

"Please, call me Auntie Vi." she requests before breaking the hug to dry her wet eyes.

"Thank you, Auntie Vi." the brunette says, her voice full of gratitude. During this, Lucy hasn't taken her eyes off of Krysti, sensing that her new guild mate hasn't gotten everything out of her system yet, being no stranger to loss herself. She plans on being there as much as she can for the older woman. Auntie Vi seems to come back to her senses and claps her hands to gain the attention of the younger girls.

"Ok, now." She pauses to clear her throat. "New wardrobe, eh? I'm certain we can do something about that. What type of clothes are you interested in sweetie?" Looking embarrassed, the brunette looks down while dragging a toe through the carpet.

"Well, actually at this moment, I would just like a shirt to replace what I'm wearing now." she says softly.

Eyes widening, the shop owner places a hand over her heart in shock before exclaiming, "But dear, you need much more than one shirt to make up a new wardrobe!" The brunette nods her head in agreement.

"That is true but, well, umm..." she trails off before her stomach rumbles quite loudly. She laughs nervously in embarrassment. Lucy steps in at this point to help ease the situation for the poor brunette.

"She hasn't been able to get a bite to eat since the day before yesterday. We just need the one shirt for now so she doesn't start a scene before we eat. That and we got a couple of friends who are waiting for us outside who are impatient and probably very hungry as well." she smoothly explains. Krysti nods in agreement and smiles fondly at how considerate Lucy is towards her. The respect and fondness she has for the blonde increases.

Auntie Vi smiles softly at the two girls before replying warmly, "Of course, let's go get you measured, sweetie. And I'll get you some cookies I baked to nibble on. Don't want you to start passing out on us from lack of food." The brunette perks up quite noticeably at the mention of cookies. The eager look on her face causes the other two women to laugh gently as all three go towards the back of the store.

During all of this, Natsu and Happy wait outside for the girls. With the town so quiet this early in the morning, he was able to hear everything going on in the store. He got distressed and anxious when he heard sobs from coming inside the shop. If it wasn't for fact that he could hear comforting words coming from inside and with how girlish the inside of the shop was, he would of barged in to see what is going on.

He just stood outside feeling quite agitated at not being able to do anything. Happy wasn't sure what was going on since his hearing, although quite good, is nothing compared to the dragon slayer's. When sounds of gentle laughter and happy voices came from the shop, he visibly relaxed much to Happy's relief. Natsu went and settled down by the wall of the shop as he waited for the girl's return. He is already learning from being around Lucy, when girls shop they take quite a while. So when less than 10 minutes later the shop doors open and his two guild mates exit the shop, he is surprised. When he sees Krysti, he is stunned. How can someone seem to change so much in so short of a time?

She is wearing a baby blue shirt that fits her curves nicely with a wide neckline that has a small amount of lace on it. Her hair was brushed and part of it is in an elegant bun with two chopsticks sticking out of it for decoration. It now shines like gold where the mid morning light hits it. She is even carrying herself differently. He can't place how, but he knows its true. He finds that he is having a hard time not letting his jaw drop at the transformation.

Lucy smirks at the look on his face, planning on teasing him about it later as revenge for how much he made fun of her during her first days in the guild. Auntie Vi comes out of the shop to give the girls one last hug. Glancing over at Natsu, she gets a knowing look in her eye. She turns back to the younger girls and gives them both a peck on the cheek.

"Make sure you both come back soon, ok dears?" she says sweetly before turning to Krysti. "Especially you sweetie, I know there is a lot more I can help you with." She smiles mysteriously before glancing at the dumbstruck man nearby again. With promises made to come back soon, Auntie Vi heads back into her shop. Door closing, the girls turn back to their male friends.

"Sorry for the wait, ready for some food?" Krysti calls out to the guys. This seems to snap Natsu out of his thoughts and he grins very widely.

"Food!" yells out both of the guys. They start running down the street to the nearest restaurant they know. Lucy just sighs and Krysti smacks her forehead lightly with the palm of her hand.

'Those guys and when it comes to food." Lucy sighs out.

"So how long do you think it will be before they realize we aren't with them?" Krysti asks.

"Probably like last time, all the way to the restaurant." Lucy quips. They look at each other and bust out laughing. "Come on, I know of a good spot for breakfast. They can catch up to us later." Lucy says.

"Right behind ya." chirps Krysti. She folds up the bloody gown in her hands and gives it to Lucy to put in the bag. They then set off at a much more leisurely pace than the males. A couple of streets later, a thundering of steps announces the return of the guys. Sliding to a stop in front of the women, Natsu gives them an accusing look and opens his mouth to say something. Krysti clears her throat to interrupt and gives him a _You-better-rethink-about-what-you're-going-to-say _look when he focuses his glare on her. His mouth shuts with an audible click as his eyes widen. He stays silent for a moment before looking down with shoulders slumped, and mumbles out a bashful apology.

Happy laughs at the defeated looking dragon slayer which causes him to glare at the cat. Krysti nods and hums in approval before turning back to follow Lucy and the guys fall in behind. They take a right, then a left before Lucy stops at a small café alongside one of the canals that runs through the city. Happy and Natsu start to chant for food when Lucy turns an evil glare in their direction.

Quickly they quiet down and shiver in fear until Lucy looks away. They sigh in relief and Natsu turns a miffed look in Krysti's direction when she giggles at their antics. They are soon seated and given menus. Natsu helps read the menu to a grateful brunette and before long the four of them are enjoying breakfast. Krysti and Natsu enjoy a rather large breakfast of eggs, pancakes, and lots of bacon, to the silent wonderment of Lucy. Happy is munching on a plate of fish, while the blond just sticks with a small fruit salad.

Lucy does get quite the kick watching the dragon enthusiasts start a small fight for the last pancake. Since they both have eaten quite a bit, the battle is nowhere as fierce as it could've been. Forks and butter knives clash for dominance. It ends when the pancake splits in two and Natsu got the largest piece. He gulps it down in victory and Krysti playfully vows to get retribution. Natsu just smirks in superiority, quite content in his victory. Lucy just laughs at them while Happy snickers evilly. Already used to his game, the other three don't pay Happy much mind.

After paying the bill, they head outside to find that the sun is now over the buildings and the streets are filled with people. Krysti lifts her face towards the sun with her eyes closed and lifts her arms to bask in the warmth. She makes a small 'hmm' of pleasure before dropping her arms and faces the others as they look at her odd behavior. Brushing it off, Lucy grabs Krysti's arm and starts pulling her along in the direction they came from.

"Let's go get more cute clothes for you!" cries out Lucy excitedly. The tomboyish woman immediately panics at the thought of going back into the pink shop and digs her heels in the street to keep from being dragged.

"Uh, Lucy! Wait!" Krysti calls out hurriedly. Lucy stops, a puzzled look adorning her face. Krysti quickly tries to come up with an excuse to keep from going to that overly pink shop. Even if the shop keeper is surprisingly sweet for someone who looks like a mix of Cruella de Vil from 101 Dalmatians and Yzma from the Emperor's New Groove, those clothes just aren't her.

"Actually, I think maybe I should get more regular clothes. Since I'm, uh, going to be training with Natsu! Yea, that's it. I'm going to train with him, a lot. And if I get nothing but nice clothes they are going to get ruined most likely. I can always pick up some nicer ones when I need them for something special." she finishes nervously, hoping that Lucy won't press the issue. And she doesn't much to the relief of the brunette.

Lucy has a very disappointed look on her face since she wasn't going back to one of her favorite shops for more clothes. So a partially dejected Lucy leads them to a different shop that had regular clothing, much to Krysti's and the other two's relief.

Although Lucy did still try to get Krysti to buy more feminine clothes. Being mindful that she is living with someone else and may be moving out soon, the brunette decides to get just a few pairs of the essentials. She purchased 5 different shirts and pairs of pants to start with, along with normal undergarments. Two different outfits that are going to be used in training along with few night gowns along get added to the mix.

Getting quickly bored listening to the girls debate over the different undergarments, Natsu and Happy start to play around with all the various female underwear. Krysti is amused and just watches them horse around while Lucy is embarrassed to no end.

The immature acting boys ignore the blonde as she scolds them which starts to cause a scene. Krysti sighs in a put upon way as she notices the employees looking over the teens in displeasure. She decides that embarrassing the scarf wearing man will most likely be the quickest way to end this before they get kicked out of the store. That and the mischievous teasing side of her just can't help but leap at the chance to really embarrass the dragon slayer. The fact that Natsu looks really cute with blushing cheeks had no sway in the matter. None at all. She strides over to the trio and places a hand on the blonde's shoulder as she takes in a breath to continue scolding them.

She turns the glare that she was giving the boys on the brunette that quickly fades when she sees who she was glaring at. Krysti gives her a smile and a wink before going up to the fire mage. He has quite the silly face while wearing some underwear on his head which causes her to laugh. He gives a happy grin seeing that he is making her laugh unlike Lucy who just gets angry. He stops in confusion when she reaches up to the feel the material on top of his head. With a thoughtful expression she takes it off his head before examining it closely.

"This won't do. The material is too rough for practicality." she says in all seriousness. Dropping the underwear in a nearby pile of dainty stuff meant to be lingerie, she digs through a different pile before quickly coming up with a plain looking pair of granny panties. "Now this is what you're going to want to wear especially while training. Here, feel how soft this is." she tells him while grabbing his hand to make him feel the garment.

"You don't have to worry about chaffing with these types. With how much you move and run, you definitely want comfort over looks. Of course, if you feel like there is too much material, we can get you some of these."

With that, she reaches over and grabs a few thongs of different colors before continuing, "With these, you are definitely going to have less worry about any sort of chaffing in the sensitive areas as you move around and train, although you will have to deal with the feeling of having this string in your butt crack all the time, especially when you bend over."

By now, Natsu's face is completely pink and isn't able to answer at the onslaught of information streaming his way. Lucy is covering her mouth and is having a hard time trying not to laugh at the expression on his face. Happy looks like he is in pain from trying to stifle his laughter.

Behind Natsu, Krysti can see Erza and Gray enter the store. Upon seeing their friends deeper inside, the two new arrivals make their way quickly over to towards their friends. Krysti looks back over towards Natsu and decides to ignore the other two heading their way as she continues her 'lecture'.

"Now you can get that pair you had with you, with the rougher material." Krysti keeps going, and moves to grab the underwear she took off his head. "Those are more meant though to be used when you're less active, like when you are hanging back at the guild, or perhaps going on a date. You see how delicate this is? Its meant to make the wearer feel pretty, and be seductive. So if you want to just feel pretty, these are a good pair to use for that."

By this time Gray and Erza are within hearing distance and the amount of stifled laughing coming from Lucy and Happy increases. Krysti looks thoughtfully down at Natsu's hips and then back at the underwear. His face is no longer pink, now its red with embarrassment and his head sinks into his scarf trying to hide it.

Happy and Lucy aren't helping out his situation either with their struggles not to laugh. They really want to see how far this will go. Erza and Gray are confused at the antics of their teammates and stay silent to figure out the situation.

"I'm not sure exactly what size you wear, so I'm going to grab a few that look right and we can have you try them out, of course it also depends on how tight of a fit you want." Krysti's tone turns a bit playful. "But we can't have it too tight after all, we can't let the boys be completely stifled no matter how nice it looks." She grabs a few different types of underwear before presenting them to the dragon slayer with the most innocent expression on her face.

"Now which one of these would you like to try on first?" she asks in all seriousness. At this, Natsu's face turns tomato red and he tries to stammer out something that couldn't be understood. Gray looks scandalized and Erza looks thoughtful.

"I would say the most plain would be the best to start with, that way you can get a better feel of the size and kind you want." Erza says in her normally serious manner. At hearing her voice, Natsu literally jumps a few feet in the air and spins to face the rest of the team. Lucy and Happy burst out in laughter unable to hold it any longer, both of them in tears. Natsu looks absolutely horrified at his other teammates coming in at the worst possible time.

Gray's scandalized expression turns into one of the largest, most evil grins that anyone has ever seen. The blackmail possibilities are endless and he can't help but smile. After fighting Gray for so long, Natsu knows exactly what is going on in the raven-haired male's mind.

And it spells nothing but trouble for Natsu.

"It's not what it looks like!" Natsu squeaks out before coughing and lowering his voice, "Really, this isn't what it looks like at all!" Gray says absolutely nothing. He just keeps grinning. This situation for him was like his birthday and Christmas from the last 10 years, all wrapped up into a gift being the ultimate humiliating moment for his rival.

"Oh?" Erza says surprised as her eyes widen slightly. "Then what is it suppose to be, Natsu?" He starts waving his arms around sporadically while trying to form a coherent sentence.

"I... She...They... UG! Stop grinning at me like that, Snowflake!" Natsu shouts out in exasperation. Gray just ignores the insult and keeps grinning, knowing that he has the upper-hand. No matter what Natsu says to him is not going to change the fact that it looks like he is shopping for women's underwear. So far this is turning out to be the best day ever for the ice mage.

"Dammit, droopy eyes! Stop grinning like that! You're creeping me out!" Natsu shouts out in mortification. Gray just keeps grinning. Natsu starts to throw a punch when Erza catches his forearm in a tight grip and gives him a frosty glare. He wilts under it and he slinks off to a nearby sitting area to fume in silence. The evil glare he gives everyone lets them know that he is planning on vengeance. Painful vengeance.

With his grin still adorning his face, Gray leans in toward Erza and whispers, "There is no way that I could ever get that embarrassed." Hearing this, Krysti quirks an eyebrow at Gray feeling that he was challenging her ability to embarrass people. As Barney Stinson would say 'Challenge Accepted'.

"So you don't think you can be embarrassed as easily, huh?" she retorts, while placing a hand on her hip and a challenging glint in her eye.

Gray looks at her shocked that she heard that while Erza looks slightly impressed at the brunette's hearing. Recovering quickly, his normally stoic expression returns while he crosses his arms over his bare chest. Krysti and Lucy wonder where his shirt went and how did they not notice him taking it off?

"I know that I can't." he states confidently. The brunette eyes the taller bare-chested male knowing just what to do.

"Well that's good to hear, because I think you would be perfect to help me decide something." She starts off with a grin. Gray looks down at the older woman, wary of what she is about to do. "I been having a debate with Lucy and you would be an unbiased opinion that would settle the score."

"Okay..." he starts off slowly. The grin leaves her face as she looks at him in complete seriousness.

"Under wire or no wire?" she asks him. His eyebrows shoot up in confusion and his arms fall away from his chest.

"What?" he asks, not understanding the question.

"Under wire or no wire?" she repeats while leaning closer to him. Lucy, having a good idea now of what Krysti is planning on doing, has to turn away and cover her mouth as she tries not to laugh again. She has barely recovered laughing from Natsu's embarrassing moment. Now she gets to see the stripping ice mage have a turn at being embarrassed. She is having a field day with this since usually its the two males making her feel humiliated. Gray leans away unsure of what is going on.

"I... don't understand." he says slowly, looking more perplexed.

"In bras, do you prefer under wire or no wire?" Krysti asks in utmost seriousness. His face takes on a slight pink tinge.

"I... er, uh. Don't know?" he finishes, quite unsure about the question and starting to feel uncomfortable. The brunette lightly smacks her forehead.

"Of course, you wouldn't. You never wore a bra. We can fix that." She grabs his cool arm and drags him over to where the majority of the bras are 2 aisles over. His face turns more pink as he tries to struggle against the tight grip on his arm.

"Hey, wait a minute! Let me go!" he protests.

He is ignored.

Krysti tightens the grip on his arm as they make it to the bra section of the store. She waves away a sales clerk who starts in their direction with a smile on her face. The woman nods and heads off in a different direction and ignores Gray's pleas for help. It's not uncommon for guys to look panicked amoungst women's undergarments. Krysti looks at his chest, and then back to the bras and then back again. At this point, he is just trying to pry her arms off of his when she suddenly lets go to his relief. He flexes his hand and arm to get the circulation flowing again when two very warm somethings land on his chest.

Surprised, he looks down to see Krysti's hands on his chest. It isn't until she starts to squeeze that he understands what is going on. Shell-shocked, he just stands there gaping as she gropes him.

In public.

She takes her hands away to make more groping motions as she studies her hands before going back to grope him again. It takes him almost a full minute to process what is going on. He slams his arms over his chest as he takes a step back, his face fully pink. Chortles coming from his teammates are not helping his situation.

Krysti then with her hands still in groping position asks, "Hey Lucy, you would say this would be about a B cup, right?" Red-faced, all the blonde can do is nod vigorously. She knew if she spoke, the dam would break and she would be laughing on the floor. Krysti nods in satisfaction before digging through the bras nearby. Feeling violated, Gray takes another step away from woman in front of him. He looks back towards Erza and gives her a silent plea for help.

She folds her arms over her armored chest before replying simply, "I would like to know your opinion of this matter as well." Gray can feel the bottom of his stomach drop. He was doomed. Damn him and his bragging mouth. A triumphant cheer brings him back to the situation at hand and his blush deepens at the sight of Krysti with an armload of different bras. She lays them near Gray and starts to fuss about.

"Ok, so color wise, I'm torn between black, dark blue, and red." She holds up a black one by his skin. "Black looks good since it goes with everything and it nicely contrasts your skin." She put that one down and hold up a dark blue one. "This one however goes nicely with your eyes and your guild mark. Would help compliment your color scheme." She put that one down and brings up a lacy, see-thru, red bra.

"Ah, but this one, yes, I think this one would do quite nicely. Not only would it work well with your skin tone and add some color," Krysti's voice at this point lowers in a sultry way with a big, mischievous smirk gracing her features, "but I bet it would help you feel oh _so_ sexy when you show it off the next time you strip." His eyes widen at her words. She then chirps happily. "Here, lets see if this fits."

She reaches around under his arms with the red bra in hand. He jumps away like he been burned with his face blazing as red as Natsu's have been.

"Keep that away from me!" he practically shrieks. The entire store looks over to see the red-faced man cringing away from a bra that a girl is holding towards him. As soon as he realizes how loud he was and is now the center of attention, his blush creeps down his neck and even some of his chest turns pink. Now he feels mortified. Hanging his head in defeat, he slinks away to a different bench and tries to hide his face in his arms. Krysti stands there in triumph, feeling quite proud in her achievement.

Looking around she sees Happy and Lucy slumped together, trying not to die from laughter. Natsu has poked his head out of his scarf and is happily laughing at Gray's embarrassment. While Erza on the other hand is looking at Krysti in a displeased manner. The brunette raises an eyebrow in question and Erza hardens her expression in response.

Getting the message, Krysti rolls her eyes but nods in agreement. She heads over to Natsu and grabs him by the arm and drags him, still snickering, over to Gray. Grabbing Gray's arm with her other hand, she pulls his arm to try to get him up.

He doesn't budge and Krysti tells him quietly, "Come on, we are going outside to talk this out." Reluctantly, he allows himself to be pulled along, his whole face still blazing red while Natsu's is bright pink. She marches them out of the store and rounds the corner of the shop to drag them partially into the small alley next to it. Placing both boys at one wall, she leans up against the other one and folds her arms across her chest.

Studying them for a moment, she then takes a deep breath and starts, "First off, I want to apologize to the both of y'all. It went too far and neither of you deserved such embarrassment. Although it was partially y'alls fault as well." Both boys look at the older woman in surprise. They clearly didn't expect an apology from her.

"Gray, I'm sorry that you were that humiliated, but you _did _challenge me to embarrass you as much as Natsu was. And well as Natsu already learned, you don't make a dare or challenge me without being ready for it to go further than you expected. Right, Grilled?" The brunette aims a smirk over at the dragon slayer whose pink face darkens slightly at that particular memory.

Krysti lets her smirk turn into a serious expression as she continues, "Natsu, the reason why I went to embarrass you was for one, you and Happy were seriously embarrassing Lucy with your actions. Two, the ruckus the three of you were causing was making the sales clerks and the other customers uncomfortable and were most likely going to get y'all kicked out of the store. Three, I figured embarrassing you would be the fastest way to put a stop to the antics. You will have to admit I didn't know Gray and Erza were going to show up at this time."

At this, Natsu looks down at the ground and nods, still recovering from his earlier bout of embarrassment. She places a hand on his shoulder and her expression softens.

"Hey, don't get me wrong. I loved watching you and Happy play around like that. I thought you guys were hilarious. Just there is a time and a place to act silly and being inside of a store while trying to shop is not one of them. Oh you can be a little silly, but you went over the line in there. Basically as long as you're not bothering other people it should be ok, although there are limits." the brunette gently chides.

An idea seems to pop into her head at the sudden change of expression and the gleam in her eyes. Not knowing what to expect, the boys lean away from her. Amused at their reactions, Krysti waves her hands in a placating manner.

"Calm down buckos, I'm not going to do anything. How about as a way to make things more even, you two try to find a way to embarrass me?" she says with an excited grin. "Providing of course that we don't bother people outside the guild and no one gets hurt. After all I didn't hurt you two besides your pride."

"You _groped_ me." Gray accuses and this causes Natsu to snicker. Krysti lifts an eyebrow at this before giving the ice mage a sly smirk as Gray elbows Natsu in the side.

"You enjoyed it and you know it." she teases in a flirty fashion and this causes Gray, who was almost fully recovered from his earlier embarrassment, to start turning pink again. He splutters in indignation and Krysti chuckles at his reaction.

"Ok, ok. Before you go having a heart attack, let's make it even then." His eyebrows shoot up as he watches Krysti places her arms behind her head.

"Wha...?" is all he can say with his jaw flapping uselessly. Natsu, just stands there frozen, not sure what is going on at all.

"Grope me."

Two little words. Just two. Nothing special about them but all the same, powerful enough to cause the brains of both boys to malfunction. They both stand there slack-jawed trying to wrap their minds around the situation. This woman. This impossible woman is acting so blasé about what she just said. So at ease its like she commented on the weather and didn't just tell a guy to molest her in public like its no big deal. What kind of woman is she to be so calm and collected about something so personal?

As they get to know her, they start to slowly understand that this woman truly is from another world. She is not like any girl they have ever met before. Almost every time they turned around, she is showing a new facet to her personality that they can hardly keep up with. Whether she is scared, sad, happy, mischievous, confident, loyal, flirty, angry, or silly. Each new emotion opens up a new personality and makes her harder and harder to figure out.

They know so much about her, while at the same time they know nothing. Each time they think they start to figure her out, she reacts in an unpredictable way that usually leaves their heads swimming. She has only been in their lives for four days and already she commands a huge part of their life.

Gray and Natsu are more alike than they would ever want to admit. Despite one being as cool as ice and the other as passionate as fire, both are thinking the exact same way as they watch the older woman in front of them. They are both intrigued and intimidated, pulled in but held at arm's length. Both of the boys just stand there, stupefied, as they watch her slowly bring her arms down after staying that way for a minute. She quirks an eyebrow at the lack of reaction from the two rivals.

"Ok, we will just take a rain check for some other time then." Her eyes twinkle merrily as she happily waves good-bye to the boys. "I look forward to see what you two come up with." She winks in their direction before turning around. "Catch ya later!", she chirps over her shoulder as she leaves. They stare after her as she almost skips back out into the street.

"So..." Gray begins before swallowing hard.

"Yeah..." Natsu says in agreement as his head slowly sinks into his scarf.

* * *

After going inside the store, I lean up against the wall and let myself laugh silently. _The faces on those two were priceless! If only I didn't have to save the battery on my iPod, I could of taken a picture of their expressions. _Thinking of what I did to earn those expressions, I allow myself to blush. _I can't believe that I told Gray to grope me. When the hell did I get so bold? Would I of even been ok if he actually did take me up on my offer? _

With my eyes closed, I picture how that might of happened and honestly I just feel confused. I shake my head to help clear my thoughts. _This place is definitely affecting me. Maybe those meds haven't fully run their course? _I take a deep breath and push all those confusing thoughts off to the side. I need clothes, and then we can go get shoes. _Oh shoes, how I missed thee._ Pushing myself away from the wall, I make my way back to where I last left the girls and Happy.

I spot them quickly, not far from the undergarment section. I let a big grin overtake my features as I wave over towards them to get their attention. I see Happy jumping up and calling attention to my arrival. The other girls look over at me in curiosity. _Most likely wondering where the guys are._

"Hey, where did Natsu and Gray go?" Lucy asks while looking for them in the store. _Called it. _

I hook a thumb over my shoulder to point back out the way I came before answering, "Back outside. Most likely plotting revenge for how much I embarrassed them." Hearing this, Happy flies off with a gleeful look on his face. _Probably wants to get in on the planning._ I can see Erza leveling a stern glare in my direction and I give her a put upon expression.

"Before you start Erza, I apologized to them both and told them that as long as they don't bother anyone outside the guild and don't hurt anyone they are welcome to try to humiliate me so we would be even." She straightens up her posture slightly in surprise before nodding.

"Good. I'm glad that the matter is settled." she says in her normal no-nonsense manner. A thought occurs to me, _Maybe I should let them know about that rain check with Gray._ I frown slightly as I debate with myself if I should tell them or not. Looking at Erza decides the matter. I'm telling them.

"Hey guys." This catches their attention. "I should let you know that I did give Gray free rein to get even with me." I start to explain.

"You already said that, Krysti." Lucy cuts in with a confused look on her face. I nod over towards her.

"Yes for the humiliation, but I gave him permission for something else." I pause at this point, mainly for dramatic effect.

"For?" Erza prompts, looking interested. Looking around for anyone nearby that could hear I lean towards the girls who also lean towards me to hear what I am going to say.

"I gave him permission to grope me back." I say simply. Erza's eyes widen in shock and Lucy has to clamp her hands over her mouth to keep from shrieking.

"_Why_ would you do that!?" hisses out the blonde in a furious whisper while her face flames to life.

At this, I shrug before saying, "Honestly, he seemed extremely scandalized that I did that. It seemed like it was something separate from the humiliation. Like I not only humiliated him, but I violated him. So I told him he can return the favor for that as well." Erza's face reddens to where it almost matches her hair. Lucy herself looks like someone just came up and goosed her.

"B-bu-but a m-maiden shouldn't h-have to submit herself t-to..." the red-head trails off, not able to form a complete sentence.

"Girls. It's okay. I am a grown woman. I know what I'm doing. I'm not exactly a blushing virgin here." _Huh, now that I said it, I am okay with the idea. I mean its not like I don't like the guy. And him being ripped like he is certainly helps. _The girl's eyes almost pop from my statement.

"You mean, you...you..." Lucy tries to ask while raising a shaky finger towards me. I roll my eyes at the super shy duo.

"No, I have not. I'm waiting til marriage. That doesn't mean that I don't know the other stuff." I tell them while cocking out a hip and placing my hand on it. The way their faces redden up, I swear I could almost see steam coming out their ears. I roll my eyes at the dramatics.

"Look, I just wanted to give you a head's up that one or both of them might try something like that to me and I wanted to try to avoid a big freak out with you two if and when it does happen. Heck, there is a good chance that those two numbskulls will forget that I even offered by the time their next fight rolls around." I say matter-of-factually.

"Still, that's just foolish. What if he actually remembers and wants to do that?" Erza asks, her face not quite as red as before. I move over to grab the clothes I plan to buy and with them securely in my arms, I look over at the two girls and give them a smug grin with a raised eyebrow.

"Well, then I would get to enjoy having a sexy guy fondle my chest" I tell them cheekily. Both girls seem to of broken down by this point and I walk away, silently laughing my butt off.

* * *

Clothes purchased and blushes under control the 6 friends enter a shoe shop and to Lucy's dismay, Krysti only wants to get a pair of men's hiking boots with a pair of combat boots. Krysti lightly growls at the constant barrage of the flimsy high-heeled things that Lucy kept pushing on her.

Erza is being no help as her eyes are sparkling at the combat heels section. Natsu and Gray are more subdued as they just sit in separate, nearby benches really not wanting to risk a repeat performance of mortification. While Happy is cheerfully munching on a fish that he recently acquired from somewhere. So its mostly Krysti and Lucy who are doing anything.

"Lucy, I'm sorry. But _no_ way am I am going to wear those things! I will seriously break an ankle if I even try. That and I much prefer to wear boots so at least my feet are protected better." Krysti snaps, her patience wearing thin at the blonde's constant badgering.

"But Krysti, you're a _woman_! Don't you want to look good in case you might meet someone special?" the younger girl pleads.

"If something as simple as the clothes I wear is enough to make someone like me, then I say they can go to hell! I _don't_ want people that shallow in my life, I want them to like me for being me. That includes being rude, crude, and not being dolled up. If they can't like me at my worst, I'm sure as _hell_ not going to give them my best." Krysti growls out with fire in her eyes. The guys wisely stay quiet while the females 'talk'.

"Krysti is as scary as Erza." whimpers out Happy to which Natsu silently nods in agreement.

"She's also way more awesome..." Natsu says under his breath as he thinks about her kindness in dealing with his motion sickness, the way she handled herself in a fight, and even out glaring Erza while the red-head is angry. Luckily for him, Happy didn't hear Natsu's words, or the cat would have even more things to tease him about. As if the blue fur ball didn't have enough as it is.

"But…" Lucy begins before getting cut off.

"No buts, Lucy!" a faint snickering is heard but is ignored as the irate woman continues. "I don't _want _them, and I don't _need _them. That is _final_. I want my clothes to have function and practicality over fashion and looks. If its comfortable, I'll wear it. That's how I shop, and I expect you to respect my wishes young lady. You can wear what you want to your heart's content, but this is my decision on who I am and what I want. If this really bothers you so much, you don't have to stay. I'm not stopping you." Krysti finishes with a huff. Lucy hangs her head down in shame.

"I'm sorry, Krysti. I didn't know you felt so strongly about this. I still want to help you. And I promise to stop trying to force you into getting what you don't want anymore." she softly says, while looking extremely depressed. The brunette lets out a long suffering sigh before placing her hands on Lucy's shoulders.

"Hey, don't be sad about it ok? If I do ever want to get some nicer clothes for special occasions, I will totally have you help. I just want plain stuff for everyday use for now." Krysti tells her in a soft, encouraging tone. Lucy perks up at that future promise. With that problem resolved and the group of 6 leave the store after paying for the boots and a few pairs of socks. Without wasting any time, Krysti moves to the nearest outside bench to put on her new socks and hiking boots. Standing up, she stamps both feet a couple of times to get a feel of the boots. Satisfied, she grins widely, finally feeling better that she isn't barefoot anymore.

"Shoes!" she cries out happily as she does a little dance in celebration. "Blessed, blessed shoes!" the other five just laugh in amusement at her antics. They next stop off for bathroom necessities, which the boys didn't care for at all. In fact, they didn't even go into the store which suited the girls just fine. Nothing special, some lotion, shampoo/conditioner, deodorant, and other necessary female toiletries. So besides taking time to find what smells good to the brunette, it was a quick stop.

Although Erza did have to break up the fight that the boys got into while waiting. Krysti had a good giggle fit at the buddy-buddy act that the boys put up to keep Erza happy. They sent the older woman a glare once Erza looks away for laughing at them which just made her giggle all the more and she even sticks her tongue out at them childishly. Lucy chuckles lightly at the scene and Happy just shakes his head while shrugging his shoulders like there is no helping them.

Krysti has them stop at an apothecary's shop next and goes in by herself with the money bag. The others are confused as to why she doesn't want them to go in with her. They mill around, coming up with different theories why she wants to be there all alone, each one more ridiculous than the last. Minutes later, the brunette appears with two additional bags to go along with the other six bags she has. Ignoring their questions, she hums happily while walking down the streets in a random direction.

Without being asked, Gray moves up next to her and snatches four of her bags to carry them for her. After her initial shock and small flare of anger, she settles down and gives him a grateful smile which he returns with a small nod. Always competing with the ice mage, Natsu goes up and snatches the other four bags despite the brunette's protests. Both guys fully ignoring her and denying her attempts to get back her bags, she gives in with a pout.

No one notices the fond look she gives them as she pouts. Natsu smells a bunch of different things in the bags he took, but one causes him to smile as he recognizes it. Ginger. He grows very excited that soon he will be able to start getting rid of his motion sickness. Erza, Lucy, and Happy look on at the interactions of the three ahead of them with mixed feelings.

Erza has sisterly pride that those two uncouth boys are finally acting like gentlemen for once. Happy is laughing to himself at how much he will get to tease Gray along with Natsu. Lucy is happy that they are behaving but is also kind of jealous since they haven't acted like that towards her despite knowing them longer. Noticing the look of utter excitement in Natsu's expression, Gray can't help but throw an insult in the dragon slayer's direction out of habit more than anything else.

It has the desired effect and now Natsu is glaring at the raven-haired boy over Krysti's head. Natsu insults him back and almost immediately the two start bickering. Erza sighs in disappointment, while Lucy and Happy look disgruntled at how quickly they start fighting. Before they know it, the boys are getting ready to come to blows and they both forget about the bags in their hands and the woman between them. Gray lifts up a tightly clenched fist quickly and the forgotten bags in his hand swing up and smack Krysti in the face.

She immediately recoils and cries out in pain, her hands flying up to protect her face from more damage. She is lucky that those bags just had clothes in it, but the pain is still intense. Her pained cry immediately snap the boys out of their argument. Guilt replaces anger and they stand awkwardly as Lucy and Erza rush in to check on their friend. As the girls hug the older woman and move her away from the boys, they turn as one and send very nasty glares at the males.

Gray and Natsu wilt under those venomous looks. Sensing that, at the moment, Natsu and Gray are chastised enough, the two younger women usher Krysti back to the hospital as per the doctor's orders. The guys trail a good ways behind the girls and Happy decides to fly next to Natsu to keep him company. Each time one or both of the boys tries to get closer to the female trio, Lucy or Erza would glare them away. Also, each time the boys heard a pained groan, they would flinch and shrink in on themselves.

"This is your fault you know." Natsu softly accuses Gray. The raven-haired male starts to argue back before slumping his shoulders in defeat. It was his fault. He started the fight and he was the one to hit Krysti in the face.

"Yea, you're right." he says too softly for any normal person to hear. After growing up with Natsu, he knew that his scarf-wearing companion would hear him just fine. Natsu turns to look at Gray with a gob smacked look on his face, can't believing that his rival actually agreed with him on something. And without a fight! The dragon slayer stands up taller and prouder and can't help the smug look on his face.

* * *

After exiting the hospital with new bandages and given the all clear, Krysti turns to her friends with a wide grin before she says, "So I don't know about you guys, but I could do with some lunch. Anyone else interested?" She gets a chorus of agreement from the others as the mood around them lightens considerably.

Erza suggests a place that she likes to frequent and before anyone can make any other suggestions, she purposely marches off in the direction of that restaurant. They look at the red-head in slight exasperation before dutifully following after her. Thankfully there were no more incidents during the meal. Lucy left right after lunch to go home and do some chores, while Erza claims she has business at the guild. Gray grumbles something in an awkward manner before he too leaves.

So Happy, Natsu, and Krysti make their way back to the dragon slayer's house with Natsu insisting that he carry all the bags. Krysti huffs at this at first, but settles for ruffling Natsu's hair after he stole the bags from her. He gives her a mock-glare at that and she just smiles sweetly in response. Happy is flying ahead, happily munching on a fish while the other two walk side-by-side along the streets. As they near the edge of town, the brunette notices that Natsu has been quiet and is looking down at the ground as he walks. Thinking that he looks like he is bothered by something, Krysti decides to broach the subject.

"Hey, Natsu." she starts off quietly.

"Hmm?" he says as he turns to look down at the woman beside him.

She looks him in the eyes before asking, "Is everything ok? You seem bothered by something." He then grins at her.

"Naw, I was just thinking about something. That's all." he replies casually.

"Mind sharing?" she asks back. He looks ahead at this point and crosses his arms behind his head even with the heavy bags in his hands.

"I was just wondering about that fight you had two nights ago and how much you wanted to brawl with the guild. You just don't seem like the type of person who likes to fight." he says after a moment. She also look ahead at this point before a teasing grin appears on her face.

"And you don't seem to be the type who likes to cuddle while sleeping either." she points out with a playful tone. Blushing, he splutters out a protest with his arms waving wildly and items start flying out from the bags. Laughing loudly, she holds out a hand to calm him down. "It's ok! I think its cute." This statement causes him to blush more and start pouting. His expression causes the woman to have a loud giggle fit as she stops to pick up the fallen purchases. Thankfully none of them were damaged. At the loud laughter, Happy flies back to see what is going on.

"Natsu, why is your face so red?" he asks innocently. Natsu mutters out a reply. Happy looks over to see his newest friend still giggling and he gets that intense look on his face he likes to use when he teases. "You lllllike her." he accuses.

"Do not!" shouts out the scarf wearing guy while his face gets decidedly redder. Krysti who heard Happy's comment, giggles even louder as she picks up the last item. She slings her arm that is holding the wrapped package over the blushing boy's shoulders which causes him to stiffen.

She grins at the laughing cat before saying cheerfully, "Of course we like each other! We're family, silly thing."

Shaking his head while losing that intense expression, Happy says, "That's not what I meant."

"What did you mean then?" she feigns a look of such absolute innocence that it causes Natsu to snort in suppressed laughter.

Happy, taken aback by her question stutters a bit before muttering, "Oh never mind. I'm going to get a fish." He flies off somewhere to get the treat feeling disgruntled. The two people left behind turn to look at each other before bursting out in laughter as the cat gets out of earshot.

Slapping his leg, Natsu cries out between laughs, "Did you…see his face?…Priceless!" Krysti is hunched over a bit, holding her stomach.

"I know!" she laughs out. After another moment, their laughter calms down, but they still have large smiles on their faces as they turn to face each other. The woman gets a glint in her eye before grinning widely. She rushes off quickly in the direction that they were heading, leaving Natsu standing there confused.

That is until she shouted over her shoulder, "Race ya home!"

He gets a competitive glint in his eyes while a grin takes over his face before crying out, "I'm all fired up!" Quick as a whip he takes off after her and catches up within seconds. He pulls ahead then matches her pace so she can keep up, both of them laughing breathlessly. At the edge of the forest, they slow down and Happy rejoins them with a large fish in his paws.

Breathing heavily, Krysti is still smiling while Natsu isn't even slightly winded. She gives a good-natured jealous glare that he doesn't notice. Giving the brunette time to catch her breath, the three then continue towards home. When in sight of the house, Krysti squeals in delight and talks about how cute it looks. This causes Natsu and Happy to look embarrassed, but proud at the same time.

"Wait a minute…" Krysti starts off, causing the other two to look at her. "Is that actual tree branches growing out of the walls?" she asks.

Natsu nods with a wide grin, "Yup. It's a nice big one too." She looks over in slight disbelief at the male walking beside her before looking back at the house. A smile with a small chuckle escapes her lips before full on laughter ensues. The cat and fire mage stop to look at the woman in confusion. Why is having a big tree growing in the house so funny? Almost as if she read their minds, she eases up on her laughter so she can speak.

"I'm sorry, it just struck me as really funny that I'm going to be living in a house with a entire tree inside it, when back home we didn't even have plants in the house cuz my parents thought it was too much of a hassle." she explains.

"Ok, but I don't really understand." Natsu says with a grin as he tilts his head some.

Happy flies past the two while excitedly shouting, "Fish!" This causes the man and woman to start laughing again. They start walking towards the quaint looking 1 story bungalow. Light yellow walls with a red tile roof and stones line the bottom. It has white paned windows and a chimney on the side made of the same rocks that lined the bottom of the house. A small room extension in front held the entrance. Finally, some unknown animal skull perched above the wooden door completed the outside decorations.

Approaching the house, Natsu opens the door to let in an eagerly awaiting Happy who flies in as soon as the door is wide enough to let him in. Krysti follows behind Natsu as she gazes around the outside of her new home, but is shocked when he suddenly closes the door in her face. Wide-eyed, she stands there unsure about what to do. She starts to raise her hand to knock, but then stops to leave her hand hovering in midair. A look of confusion runs rampant on her face as she tries to figure out what to do. After standing there for a couple of minutes with nothing happening, her expression saddens.

Biting her lip, she slowly turns around to trudge back into town, feeling that she was mistaken and was only allowed to stay the one night. She lets out a sigh and hangs her head down as she starts picking her way down the path.

A small creak comes from behind her and Natsu's voice calls out, "Hey, Krysti! Where are you going? Don't you need to put this stuff up before we go train?" She turns back to face the pink-haired guy, confusion written on her face.

"Huh? So I am allowed to stay?" she asks. Looking confused himself, Natsu leaves the entrance to walk toward her.

"Well, yeah. I wouldn't have invited you to be roommates if I wasn't allowing you to stay." he states like it is the most obvious thing in the world.

"But you shut the door in my face when I tried to enter." Krysti tells him. His eyes widen in surprise.

"I did?" he rubs the back of his head sheepishly. "I'm sorry, I guess that was a force of habit. I'm not used to having other people here." he ends with a small grin. Krysti just smiles back, happy to know that it was just a simple mistake. He reaches over and grabs her wrist. With a small tug, Natsu leads her back to the house that they are now going to share.

* * *

**Longest chapter yet, woot!**

**Apologies for taking so long to update this fic. Combination of work, life, writer's block, and proofreaders not proofreading. I went on and submitted this chapter when it became apparent that the two people who I use to beta my story aren't going to do it anymore. So more apologies for spelling and grammatical errors.**

**Before anything is said, I know that Gray and especially Natsu are acting OOC towards Krysti. With Gray its more of a plot device to help out in future plots, especially with the upcoming Gruvia angle. Natsu, to me, seems like his apparent mini crush on her is a lot more natural. Not spoiling, but if you watch the Jigglebutt Gang filler you see how happy and grateful Natsu is to a stranger just rubbing his back. So I think that he would of course start developing somewhat of a crush on a girl who not only takes very good care of him while sick, but offers a cure for his motion sickness and shares a lot of common interests with him. Like a love for dragons for one. But that's just me and my take on how he would react.**

**I'm always happy to receive constructive criticism on my work and if anyone is interested in being a Beta or proofreader for me, I would very much appreciate it. I say the more opinions and perspectives I get on the story, the better I can make it. Of course, if someone wants me to Beta or proofread their work, I will be more than happy to offer my services. Always happy to lend a helping hand and make new friends.**

***crosses fingers* Hopefully the next chapter won't take so long to update.**


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N: **Super shocker I know, I'm actually updating more than once every year or two. I do have to apologize for the slow rate. I actually do have the chapters written, I'm currently writing chap 10 now. One, it is because I want the chapter to be perfect so I read it over to revise many times. Two, I have no more proofreaders to help me so I'm more paranoid that I am making things too OOC or confusing. Three, life tends to get in the way of my writing one way or another. So despite the troubles, I feel real guilty not updating faster. So here I am, putting out a new chapter hoping that it will pass muster. Hope you guys enjoy.

* * *

Previously:

_ "But you shut the door in my face when I tried to enter." Krysti tells him. His eyes widen in surprise._

_ "I did?" he rubs the back of his head sheepishly. "I'm sorry, I guess that was a force of habit. I'm not used to having other people here." he ends with a small grin. Krysti just smiles back, happy to know that it was just a simple mistake. He reaches over and grabs her wrist. With a small tug, Natsu leads her back to the house that they are now going to share._

* * *

I step into the house with Natsu standing in front of me, blocking my view of the interior. He looks at me with a nervous smile while almost bouncing in excitement. I chuckle at his antics as he pulls me out of the entrance hallway and into the house proper. He steps away to reveal, what I actually kind of expected his house to look like.

_ Ah, hello ex-boyfriend flashbacks. It looks like a tornado went through here. Clothes and other stuff all over the floor, dishes with old food, trash everywhere. Heh, looks just like what a guy's house looks like. If it gets cleaned up, it would look pretty darn nice, even with the tree._

I turn to see an expectant look on Natsu's face, like he is silently hoping that I approve. I smile warmly at him and he starts smiling back at my positive reaction. _He is just too cute, acting like such an eager little kid about this._

"It looks really nice, Natsu." I tell him encouragingly as I turn back to study the house more while looking past all the clutter. _Solid seeming hardwood floors, yellow brown walls with some cracks here and there. They could use a coat of paint to spruce it up. The windows look nice and clean from here. Hmm, an interesting looking old-fashioned stove. I wonder where the sink is? High ceiling and I see a storage area above. Could be some stairs elsewhere to get up there and that looks like a request board, kind of like the one back at the guild. _

I feel my eyebrows shoot up in wonder. _Why does he have a French maid outfit on display? That's... odd. _I shake my head at this and continue looking about the room. _It looks like he sleeps in a hammock. Interesting. So he doesn't have a bed then? _Turning back to see his proud face beaming at me, I can't help but smile back at his contagious grin.

"So, do you guys have a bathroom I could use to change in?" I ask. Still grinning, he turns to point at a door at the other end of the house.

"Right over there. Hurry up and finish! I want to start training!" he exclaims excitedly. I laugh at his response as I gingerly make my way through the mess, trying not to trip. I stop to grab the clothes bags that were sitting on the couch I slept on. I breath a sigh of relief when I am able to make it without breaking anything or hurting myself, again. I open the door only to be met with a rank odor. _Ye gods! This is a boy's bathroom alright! _

Trying not to cough, I take in a deep breath and plunge in while closing the door behind me. A quick glance confirms my suspicions. _An unclean toilet and bathtub. With old clothes thrown around and mystery stains everywhere. Why do guys never think to clean these things? _Setting down the bags on the cleanest part of the floor I can find, I rummage through them to find what I want to change into.

Double-checking that the door is firmly closed, I begin to change into my new duds. Nothing special about them, just a pair of dark form-fitting shorts, a forest green t-shirt and a very tight sports bra. I slip out of the hiking boots and switch them with the combat boots that were lightly armored.

_ They are heavier, but I feel good about these boots. It is kinda surprising at how something as simple as clothes can change how you feel._ Picking up the bags, I head to the door to get out of the smelly room and almost hit Natsu with the door. He looks at me in surprise and I raise an eyebrow in question at him as he moves to let me out of the bathroom.

"That was fast! Lucy never gets dressed that fast." he states in astonishment. I smirk at this.

"Well, I'm not Lucy now, am I?" I drawl out while putting a hand on my hip. He laughs at this.

"No, I guess you're not!" he agrees. I walk over to place the bags on one of the two couches.

"So what training did you have in mind for us?" I ask him as Happy flies over from wherever he was to land on my shoulder. "Well hello there." I greet the cat.

"Strength training of course!" Natsu shouts out with both arms pumped up and ready for action. He hops down to the floor and starts doing pushups really fast. I laugh at the sight.

"Of course, strength training to get stronger." I chuckle out while rolling my eyes. Before I join him, I first work on stretching out my body. Happy flies over to sit on Natsu's back to add some extra weight to his workout as I begin mine. I start off with my right arm and shoulder by crossing them over my chest as far as I can and counting to ten before switching to my left side. I do this five times each to make sure I'm limbered up then I go to work on my legs. Happy watches me, still on Natsu's back as he continues to do the pushups at a lightning pace. I watch this display with slight awe. _How is it possible that he can move so fast? Its like he is a jackhammer!_

"What are you doing, Krysti?" Happy asks which shakes me out of my thoughts.

"Stretching out my muscles to warm them up." I reply as I bend down to touch my toes.

"Why?" he asks in a curious tone.

"It helps loosen out the muscles so then you can exercise with less chance of hurting yourself. It's also a good way to make your body more flexible while increasing your muscle coordination. It can also help increase your energy levels." I explain to the blue cat.

"Really? It can do that?" Natsu asks in amazement as he stops his pushups to look at me as I stand up from toe touching.

"If you do it right, then yes. Being flexible can be very handy. And I like the less likely to get hurt part as well." I laugh slightly at the end. I bend back down for another round of toe touching, this time putting both of my palms flat on the ground. I can feel the burn in the back of my thighs, signaling that they are getting stretched correctly.

"So what all stretches do you do?" says a voice to my right. I look over, still bent to see Natsu and Happy copying me. I stand up straight again while rolling my spine to pop it as well. They follow suit while looking at me curiously. I grin at them, delighted that they are joining me.

"Well, first I start on my arms, like this see?"

* * *

_ I can't believe it, we spent the whole afternoon just doing a mix of yoga, pilates, and tai chi that I picked up over the years. _Shaking my head in light amusement, I watch the guys as they sit calmly trying to put one leg behind their heads. We moved to the clearing outside the house when Natsu and Happy kept getting too competitive about stretching better than the other and was making an even bigger mess inside.

Natsu considered it a challenge when I mentioned that putting my leg behind my head as one pose I have yet to be able to do. And the guy has been working on trying to do it for the last hour. Now that I am more than properly warmed up, I feel up for just about anything. _Hmm, I wonder what I could do while they are working on this? _I glance around the clearing to see if any idea strikes.

_ Light bulb._ I grin to myself as I figure out what to do. Cracking my neck, I hunch down and start to run. _Not the most original idea ever, but hey I need the cardio. Especially if I have any chance of keeping up with these guys on just a day-to-day basis. _A moment after I start, I remember the doctor said no exercise. _Dammit, that's gunna put a cramp on my training._ I abruptly stop my run with a disappointed groan.

My hands go to my hips as bite the inside of my cheek while I think._ Ok, what can I do that won't have me sweating and/or possibly reinjure me. Cardio is definitely out, so are most workouts. So no sit-ups, crunches, jumping jacks, push ups. Damn, and I already did a bunch of stretches too. Its kind of a waste to not do anything else after warming up so well. Maybe I could do some wal... _A hand landing on my shoulder startles me out of my thoughts. I look up to see Natsu with a questioning look on his face.

"What's wrong?" he asks cautiously. I give him a half-hearted upturn of my lips before I sigh despondently.

"Just remembered the doc said that I gotta stick to very light exercise. So just trying to figure out what I can do besides stretching. I mean stretching is good, it just seems a bit of a waste to not do something else that's worth the stretching." I prop my arm up with my other arm in a thinking pose while biting my lip. "I know that I promised to train, but without any workout equipment, there isn't much I can..." he interrupts me with a grin.

"If its equipment you need, I got some weights in the house." I perk up at this.

"Really?" I ask hopefully. His grin widens.

"Yup." he answers simply. I shoot my fist up in the air.

"Let's pump some iron then!" I say, before letting out a loud 'whoop" to amp me up. I twirl and start jogging towards the house with my fist still in the air. I reach the door and burst in with a big smile on my face that falls as I see the mess inside. _Oh yea, its a mess in here. Not going to find anything any time soon. Maybe I can make house cleaning my workout? Just picking up the clothes would be considered its own workout. Not to mention when its time to clean that bathroom. _I make a disgusted face at the memory of that smell.

"Now what's wrong?" Natsu's amused voice calls out from behind me as he walks around me to get in. I let my face relax out of the grimace it was in.

"Thinking about how cleaning this place will be its own workout. Specially that bathroom." I make a gagging face. He gives me an offended look.

"Hey! This is clean!" he cries out with a frown. I give him a pitying look.

"Oh sweetie, there is _so_ much that needs to be cleaned." I reach up to pat his shoulder in a consoling way. He pouts at my words.

"You said it looks nice!" he retorts indignantly. I nod slowly.

"Yes, the house looks nice, but it stills needs to be cleaned." I calmly explain to him.

"But it is clean!" he protests.

"Its boy clean, it is not girl clean." I inform him. At this, he looks at me puzzled.

"What's girl clean?" he asks me while slowly calming down. I smirk at him while putting one hand on my hip and the other on his shoulder.

"Let me show you." I simply say while my smirk grows.

* * *

They spend a good couple of hours picking the clothes, dirty dishes, and trash up off the floor. It went faster when Krysti turned it into a competitive game in who can pick up the most. Happy got into the competition as well, although he had more fun sabotaging the two humans. The clothes were piled onto the unused couch, the dishes near the sink, and the trash was put into bags outside the house.

"Wow! We got a lot done in here. So this is girl clean, huh? It looks so... so bare in here." Natsu comments as he and Krysti flop onto the couch with her bags. He gives her a puzzled look when she starts giggling.

"What's so funny?" he asks with a slight frown. She grins at him, her eyes full of amusement.

Patting his leg gently she says, "Its a good start, but this is not girl clean." His eyes widen and jaw drops at this revelation.

"A good start?! How much more needs to be done for it to be girl clean? I don't remember seeing this place so clean!" he exclaims while waving his arms widely. A thoughtful look crosses Krysti's face and she raises her closed fist as she starts counting out the things left to finish.

"Let's see, there is washing and sorting out the clothes, washing the dishes, sweeping, mopping, dusting, cleaning the walls, organizing our stuff, repainting the walls, plugging up the holes where the branches are, possibly go through the top storage area to see if anything can be done to organize to have more room, and don't get me started on what needs to be done with the bathroom." she lists off. His face has an unreadable expression on it.

"Hehehehe, Natsu's face looks weird." Happy chortles out.

Krysti waves her hand dismissively as she says, "Of course we don't have to do all of that. I was just listing off everything I can think of right now that can be done. I thought that I could clean your place properly to help say thank you for letting me stay. If you don't want me to bother your things, I won't. I can take over the chores for you as well. Cooking, laundry, and other menial things. Oh and I will make sure to brew you the tea everyday. I don't want to be a burden after all." She finishes that with downcast eyes and her voice softer than when she started.

Happy flies up to flop over on Krysti's head as he asks, "Can you cook fish? I'm getting hungry."

"I'll give it a shot, Happy. Not sure what all you guys have here for food, but I'll do what I can." she states while looking up to try to meet the cat's eyes.

"Krysti." Natsu's voice has the woman and cat turn their turn to face him. He looks at the brunette with a serious expression as he says, "You don't have to all of that work. Happy and I did not invite you to live here with the intention of making you do all that. We invited you to live with us, not work for us."

"Speak for yourself!" Happy says haughtily. Krysti giggles at the cat's response. With a warm look in her eyes, she reaches over and grabs onto one of the dragon slayer's hands.

"I know that I don't have to. I want to." she says fondly. She then tilts her head and a crooked grin forms as she continues, "I'm was planning on doing this anyways unless you really don't want me bothering with your stuff." She gives his hand a squeeze as the crooked grin becomes a proper one.

"This is the price you have to pay with living with a woman. We clean. There are very few women who don't start cleaning a guy's place when she moves in. So if you don't want your things messed with and stuff getting rearranged, you better speak now or forever hold your peace." She finishes that with a wider grin and a wink.

"I just have one thing to say to all of that." he says with a serious expression. She raises an eyebrow.

"What would that be?" she asks with a just as serious tone.

A grin forms on his face as he says warmly, "Let's eat." She laughs and nods gently in agreement, not wanting to rude and knock the blue cat off of her head. Together, they stand up, her hands letting go of his. She turns to look towards the sink and doesn't notice his grin slipping into a small pout. Happy does and starts laughing hard at the pink-haired man to the point he falls off of Krysti's head during his outburst. Natsu just gives the cat a deadly glare where he lays on the floor in a giggling mess before brushing past a confused looking brunette to show her where the food is kept.

After they ate some grilled fish, Krysti stands up and announces that she is going to take a bath. She heads to the bags sitting on the couch and rummages through them before grabbing some bottles and extra clothes to change into. The boys move off to do their usual routine of working out after eating with the weights they had uncovered earlier. Krysti gets to the bathroom and silently gags at the smell once the door opens.

Putting down her bathing items, she quickly grabs all of the dirty clothes and tosses them out of the bathroom which catches the attention of the males in the main room. She grabs a bottle of spray deodorant and gives a couple of small spritzes in the air. Not as much as it needs to completely take away the smell, but just enough so she won't be gagging while inside the room. Satisfied for now, she turns on the water in the tub and picks up a rag that she didn't throw out.

Taking a bar of soap, Krysti soaps up the rag and washes it in the tub to clean off the crust that was on it. After deeming it clean enough, the brunette then uses the soap and rag to work on cleaning out the tub. She turns off the water after the tub is filled a few inches. Minutes of hard scrubbing later, she wipes the light sweat off of her brow and admires her work. It's not completely clean, but it's a hell of a lot better than it was before.

_ The wonders of soap and elbow grease_. She thinks to herself proudly with how much better the bathroom looks already. She unplugs the tub and lets the water drain, then starts the water again to get out more of the soapy residue. When satisfied, the woman plugs the tub and lets it fill. Going to the door, Krysti tosses the rag out into the other room to take care of it later. Closing the door firmly she then strips to the nude, but not before removing her iPod, ear buds, and earrings.

She also lets her hair out of the bun that Auntie Vi helped make earlier that day and sets the chopsticks down with the rest of her personal items. She slips her possessions under the clean clothes so they won't get wet. Seeing that the water is now high enough, she turns off the tap and places the toiletries along the edge of the tub. She steps into the warm water with a sigh and sinks until only her head and knees were above water.

She closes her eyes to relax and lets out a 'mmm' of pleasure. Enjoying her first bath in days, she starts humming a wordless song while relaxing into the warmth. Before long Krysti changes from humming to softly singing in la's and da's which then morphs into full song.*

(Sings softly)

I am black, I am white, I am all skins in between

I am young, I am old, I am each age that has been

I am scrawny, I am well fed, I am starving for attention

I am famous, I am cryptic, I am hardly worth the mention

(Sings a little louder)

I am short, I am height, I am any frame or stature

I am smart, I am challenged, I am striving for a future

(Adds more passion and the door quietly opens while going unnoticed)

The color of the sky is blues and grays

The color of the earth is greens and browns

The color of hope is rainbows and purple

And the color of peace is people together

Shades of life

People together

Shades of life

(Picks up volume and opens eyes to stare at the ceiling)

I am able, I am weak, I am some strength, I am none

I am being, I am thought, I am all things said and done

I am born, I am died, I am dust of humble roots

I am grace, I am pain, I am labor of willed fruits

I am slave, I am free, I am bonded to my life

I am rich, I am poor, I am wealth amid strife

(slightly lowers volume)

The color of the sky is blues and grays

The color of the earth is greens and browns

The color of hope is rainbows and purple

And the color of peace is people together

Shades of life

People together

Shades of life

(becomes more passionate and increases volume)

I am shallow, I am glory, I am hiding from my shame

I am hero, I am loser, I am yearning for a name

I am empty, I am proud, I am seeking my tomorrow

I am growing, I am fading, I am hope amid the sorrow

I am certain, I am doubtful, I am desperate for solutions

I am leader, I am student, I am fate and evolutions

I am spirit, I am voice, I am memory not recalled

I am chance, I am cause, I am effort blocked and walled

I am many, I am no one, I am season by each being

I am me, I am you, I am all souls now decreeing

(Sings softer and closes eyes)

The color of the sky is blues and grays

The color of the sky is blues and grays

The color of the earth is greens and browns

I am

The color of hope is rainbows and purple

And the color of peace is people together  
Shades of life  
I am  
People together  
Shades of life  
I am

People together  
Shades of life  
I am  
People together  
Shades of life  
I am

(Whispers)  
People together  
Shades of life  
I am

I am  
I am  
I am  
I am  
Shades of life  
I am

Song finished, Krysti soaks for another minute in silence before she is done with just relaxing and she pushes with her legs to be sitting fully upright in the tub. Still keeping her eyes closed, the sound of a door slamming really hard causes her to shriek and jump in surprise. Blinking in confusion, she looks around to see nothing out of place.

"Natsu, Happy? Is everything ok?" she calls out hesitantly.

"F-fine! Everything is f-fine!" Natsu stutters out an octave higher and suspiciously right near the door. A higher pitched giggle is heard as well. Krysti narrows her eyes as she deduces that the dragon slayer and probably the cat were peeping in at her. She contemplates of whether or not to do something about it and decides against it for now. Finishing her bath is more important than punishing the guy for being a guy.

Eyes softening, she laughs gently at her roommates as she makes a mental note to make sure to lock the door for now on. Grabbing the bottles, she gets to work on cleaning herself up properly. Half an hour later, a cleaner and much more relaxed brunette walks out of the bathroom in damp, clean clothes.

"Ah! Nothing quite like a nice relaxing bath to ease away your pain and stress." she says to no one in particular as she sinks into the couch that has her bags. She looks over to her roommates and a thoughtful expression adorns her face. Natsu begins to get nervous at her gaze and sweats a little. He is hoping she doesn't try to get revenge for peeking earlier. She can be just as scary as Erza, and for a non-mage that's really saying something.

"Hey, Natsu." the sharp tone of her voice causes him to flinch a bit.

"Yea?" he answers back uncertainly.

"Would you mind telling me more stories of you and Igneel? I'm interested in learning more about your father." she asks calmly and with a warm smile. He brightens up visibly, and starts to talk the night away about his foster father.

* * *

I wake up to the pre-dawn gloom and loud snoring of my roommate. _Well, this is a crap-tastic start for my day. Couldn't really sleep due to my nose throbbing, and Natsu's snores are worse than dad's! Ug. Those painkillers were way too weak._ Swinging my legs to the floor, I slowly work my way up to a sitting position from where I was laying on my stomach on the couch. I yawn widely as I stretch my arms high in the air.

_ How the hell was I able to sleep the last two times I was in the same room as him? Guess I was more tired than I thought. _I yawn again as I lay on my back to stretch my legs and pop my joints.

After getting a series of satisfying 'pops' I swing my legs to the floor again and stand up. I bite back a sigh as I stare at the mess of clothes piled on the other couch. _This is going to take a while to clean, especially those clothes. I wonder if he has a washer/dryer? Wait, do they even have washer/dryers in this world?_ I scratch my head in confusion. _Cleaning this place up could turn out a lot harder than I expected. _

I look over to Natsu and Happy as they are almost cocooned in the hammock while Natsu lets out a particularly loud snore. Happy is currently spooning Natsu's head and I let a small giggle out at the sight. _How comfortable is that? I don't think I would want to sleep in a hammock. Knowing my luck, I would fall out and mess up my nose for good. _I grimace at that thought, feeling the bandages move uncomfortably on my face. I hear chirping of unfamiliar birds and I look out of the biggest window to see an overcast sky.

_ Hmm, might rain today. If there isn't a washer/dryer here, I'll have to hold off on cleaning the clothes. I could start on the dishes, or maybe see if Natsu is okay with me going through the boxes in that attic-like space. I should get that place taken care of first before I get to the dusting, sweeping, and mopping. And that all should be taken care of before trying to paint anything. _Feeling an urge to get out of the house, I carefully pick my way through the mess still on the floor and open the door with a slight squeak.

I slip out and shut the door as quietly as I can before making my way over towards the woods wanting to sit under a big tree to enjoy the serenity of the early morning. I take in the morning air with deep breaths. I relish the feeling of the dewy grass on my bare feet as I'm walking across the clearing. The cool, wet feeling refreshes and invigorates me. It reminds me of when I was younger and would run around like crazy having the tall dew-filled grass drench my legs while giggling the whole while.

I smile at my happy memories as I stop to enjoy breathing in the fresh air again. _Oh to hell with it._ I giggle and take off running through the grass. I twist and turn, making intricate loops and patterns. I feel my nightgown twirling around me, making me feel like I'm wearing a fancy dress. Soon out of breath, I stop running and turn to admire my handiwork. The grass was darker where I ran through, as the dew gave it a slight silvery shimmer.

Huffing and puffing with a satisfied smile, I move towards the trees I have originally planned on sitting under. I pass by a few trees before I decide to sit at the base of a particularly large one that is still in sight of the house. My breathing eases up as I recover from the impromptu reenactment of my childhood days.

_ Those days were so simple and full of joy. Mom would be feeding the chickens, I would help her and gather the eggs. We would milk the cows and I would stop and run in the tall grass along the way as we take them back to the pasture. Hehe, the grasshoppers would jump and fly all over the place trying to get away from me._

I sigh as I think of those happy days while I listen to the birds chirp. _I wonder what Mom and Dad are doing now? I bet they are worried sick by now. _My happiness fades with this. _I need to get back, Dad can't handle taking care of Mom and his job. We can't afford to hire someone to look after her. _I start to frown in concern. _We were barely making it with my income as it is. If I'm not there, we won't be able to pay for her medicine and… and… _

I didn't want to complete the thought as tears begin welling up in my eyes. I love my parents so much, especially my mother. She is my closest friend, my big sister, my rival in pranks, the only person I shared all my secrets with. We have such a close bond and when she got diagnosed with a brain tumor and pulmonary fibrosis, it terrified all of us. I choke back the sobs as they form, my throat getting tight making it hard to breathe.

_ Mom! I have to get back, I have to help her! But how?! I don't even know how I got here or where _here_ even is! _Warm liquid trails down my face, the tears now falling freely. I curl up my knees as close to my chest as I can and lay my head down careful not to jostle my nose. _I miss my home. I miss my family. And because of me, they'll…she'll…_ I can't think anymore, the grief overtakes me as I break down crying my eyes out.

My eyes burn from the strain, and my bandages get soaked from my crying. Feeling exhausted from the lack of sleep, and the pain of my emotions, I lay down on the ground and fall asleep. Tears still spilling out onto the ground.

* * *

With a sleepy yawn, Natsu's head pokes up out of the hammock and he starts to sniff the air greedily.

A quiet "Good morning, sleepyhead." greets his ears and he swivels his head to see food sitting on a cleaner than usual table. The golden glow of the late morning sun shines on the table, like it is purposely highlighting the food. He blinks his eyes to make sure that he is seeing things clearly, and when they don't change a large grin appears. Excitement fills his eyes as he pokes his sleeping friend in the side.

"Hey Happy! Wake up!" he semi-shouts out eagerly.

"Natsuuu, five more minutes…" whines out the blue cat as he struggles to stay asleep. A slight chuckle is heard behind them. Natsu also laughs along as he pokes the cat harder.

"Well then, I guess if you won't get up, Krysti and I are going to have to eat all the delicious fish she cooked." Natsu sing-songs in a teasing manner. Before he can say another word, a small blue whirlwind appears in the house. The sounds of chewing are heard right after the whirlwind dies down to show Happy sitting on the table, munching away on his favorite food. A howl of laughter escapes from the brunette woman and the dragon slayer joins in as he hops out of the hammock.

"Happy sure loves his fish, doesn't he?" Krysti asks, looking at Natsu.

"Aye, sir!" shouts out the cat in agreement before taking another bite out of the fish. This causes another round of laughter between the two humans. Settling themselves down, they enjoy a nice, hot breakfast of rice, baked fish, and ginger tea. Letting out a satisfied burp, the fire mage leans back in his chair feeling content with a full belly after he finishes the last bite of rice.

Krysti laughs quietly at his actions as she starts picking up the plates to clean them. Putting them in the sink with all the other dishes that were found yesterday, she turns on the hot water. Looking around, she notices something is missing.

"Hey, Natsu?" she calls as she starts searching around the sink.

"What is it, Crispy?" he answers in a relaxed tone.

Rolling her eyes at the nickname, she turns to face him before asking, "Where is the dish soap so I can wash the dishes?" He looks at her with a confused look.

"Why do you need dish soap? Regular water is enough." he states casually. The woman looks at him with horrified eyes before looking down at the dishes they ate off of for breakfast and dinner the night before and takes a step back. She shudders and her stomach does a queasy back-flip.

"You don't use dish soap? Like ever?" she gasps out. He slightly tilts his head to the side, curious and slightly worried about her reactions.

"No." he replies slowly while giving her a wary look. She shudders again.

"That's disgusting! Oh dear god, and I ate off those plates." cries out Krysti in disgust as her face pales. She rushes for her bags, jumping over some clutter on the floor. Natsu and Happy are frozen in place as they watch their new housemate rush off into the bathroom with some bottle of liquid in her hands. Gargling noises are soon heard which are followed by spitting and more gargling.

Happy leans towards Natsu and whispers, "Krysti is weird." Natsu nods in agreement. A hacking, choking sound erupts from the bathroom, sending the dragon-slayer on red alert. He hurries over to the bathroom and stands by the doorway to survey what is going on. The brunette in question is hunched over the sink coughing violently and spitting out globs of phlegm.

"Uh, Krysti…" he starts out hesitantly. He clenches and unclenches his hands, not knowing what to do.

"I'll live... tried to go down the wrong tube. Gimme a bit." she pants out, voice straining. This just causes more confusion and he worries more. Happy flies in and takes in the scene with an unreadable expression on his face. She stays hunched over for another minute to make sure she doesn't have another violent coughing fit. She straightens up slowly and the boys are stunned when they see her red face and tears in her eyes in the mirror above the sink.

They start panicking as boys usually do when they see girls cry. Ignoring them, she pushes her hair back behind her ears and starts to gargle again with the mouthwash she brought in. Spitting it out, she turns on the water and sticks her head in the sink to drink up the water to gargle with that as well.

To the boy's relief, she finally finishes with whatever she was doing. They had no idea that she was trying to kill as many food borne illness germs that she can without throwing up. She stands up with a relieved sigh and uses her shirt to wipe her face off, careful to not jostle her nose in the process. Feeling angry at how worried she made him, Natsu walks up and confronts her about it

"What the hell was that all about!? So what we don't have soap, they're still clean!" he shouts out angrily while grabbing onto her shoulders and turning her to face him, more because of how she scared him than actual anger. She looks taken aback at the ferocity of his words before narrowing her eyes at him.

"It does matter if they were cleaned with soap or not! Haven't you heard of food poisoning? There are other diseases as well that can kill you from unclean plates!" she growls out. He takes a step back at the word kill.

"W-what do you mean kill? What does diseases have anything to do with food and dirty dishes?!" he asks, still angry and now confused as well. Krysti then straightens up in sudden realization that this guy in front of her most likely has no idea about food-borne diseases or how they even work. Natsu stares at her as her mood quickly shifts from angry defensive to quiet and thoughtful.

"Well?" he growls. "What are you talking about!?" The brunette looks him over before seeming to come to a decision. Without saying anything, she grabs his wrist and pulls him out of the bathroom. "Hey, wait a minute? Where are we going?" he asks loudly, most of the anger gone from his voice.

Without looking back, Krysti answers him as she leads him through the house, "We are going shopping." Natsu lets out a groan.

"But we shopped _yesterday_! Why do we need to go again? Can't you shop with Lucy?" he whines while weakly trying to tug his wrist free. At the door, she turns to give him a stern look that causes him to gulp in fear.

"We are shopping for _you_, not for me. I don't know my way around the town so I need you to guide me. This isn't about clothes, although I do need to talk to you about that at a later time. Lastly, I need to explain to you exactly why it is so important for you to have properly clean dishes and why it is connected to diseases. This might take a while, so it better to talk while we shop." she explains in a calm voice which contrasts with how she is glaring. Happy hangs back as Krysti pulls Natsu along behind her again, not letting go of his wrist despite his protests.

The blue cat laughs quietly to himself as Natsu keeps whining and protesting about going shopping. He doesn't really put up a struggle as he is being dragged towards town even though Natsu could easily break free if he really wanted to. Happy flies a ways behind them, not wanting to get caught up in the lecture that is soon to follow.

* * *

"So you're saying these tiny invisible grimes…" Natsu says before I cut him off.

"Germs." I patiently correct him as we are walking down the street.

"Germs." he says with a huff before continuing. "are everywhere and are what make people sick?" he finishes. I nod.

"Yes, they invade your body in many ways, from cuts and burns, from eating bad food, or with some, even the air you breath." I inform him.

"So why worry about the plates? They're clean." he asks.

I shake my head in disagreement, "No they aren't. Just because they look clean, doesn't mean that they are. Food leaves behind a residue on the dishes and the germs will eat, live and grow in the residue. So then when you put food on that plate, the germs get on the food and in you." I turn my head to look up him as he scratches his head in puzzlement.

"I don't understand." he states.

"What do you not understand?" I ask him, still in the patient teacher mode.

"What's a residue?" he asks after a bit of thought. I face the front again as I begin to answer him.

"Its what the food leaves behind. Like when you eat a piece of meat and there is the grease and oil left on the plate. It doesn't comes off completely when you wash it with just water. So the germs will eat that grease and oil and grow. That's why we need the soap, because soap with water gets rid of all of the grease as long as you wash it properly. And without the residue, the germs can't grow." He nods his head while looking serious.

"I think… I understand." he says slowly. I let a grin adorn my face. _This is great. He's learning. _"But how come I never got sick since I don't use soap on those plates?" he asks in a wondering tone. I give it a bit of thought before telling him the most probable answer I can think of for now.

"Most likely because of your fire magic." I state.

"Huh? My magic?" he repeats.

I nod again before clarifying, "Yes, your magic. Its because of your magic that your body is warmer than most people right?" He nods at this and I continue. "Well in their own way, germs are like people. Some like it hot, others like it cold, and there are the ones in the middle. The almost all bad food germs do not like the heat. That's why its important to fully cook your food so it kills the germs. So I think that because of how much warmer it is in your body, they can't survive when you eat them so they just die and you don't get sick."

"I guess that makes sense." he says with a frown on his face. I glance over at him.

"Is something wrong?" I ask. He shakes his head before looking back at me with a wide grin.

"No, I guess it's just a lot to take in. It sounds really farfetched with these invisible things all over the place that make people sick. Are you sure it's just not a curse that people throw around that gets out of hand?" he asks in a curious tone but with a sly grin. This causes me to stop walking as I think seriously about it.

_ What if he is right? There is magic in this world, so there could be curses as well. But there has to be germs as well in this world, or things just wouldn't work right! Or would it? Magic is a mysterious force. Hmm, I think I need to find a way to get a hold of or make a microscope to find out. Or maybe I should go ask Dr. Shibiwa when I go see him in a few days._

"Hehe. Krysti's face looks weird." laughs out Happy as he flies in front of us. That comment snaps me out of my thoughts and I frown at the cat.

"Well your large eyes freak me out." I retort huffily. This causes tears to well up in the cat's eyes.

"Wah! Natsu, Krysti's being mean!" he cries out as he flies into Natsu's chest to be comforted. I shake my head slowly in amusement as I roll my eyes before walking down the street.

"If you can't handle the heat, then stay out of the kitchen silly cat." I say over my shoulder playfully.

"What does heat have anything to do with you being mean?" Natsu asks while he hugs his best friend before catching up to me. I chuckle at this.

"It's a saying from my world, it means if you can't handle getting insulted even as a joke, then you shouldn't go around insulting others, joking or not." I look directly at Happy when I say this. He just cries even more and I sigh again. _He'll learn, sooner or later._ I close my eyes as I laugh inwardly at Happy's dramatics.

"Hey, Natsu. Krysti is weird and mean." Happy says in a loud fake whisper, his crying suddenly finished. I open my eyes at this, but decide to not comment.

"Hmm, she sure is." agrees Natsu in the same fake whisper. _What are these guys up to? _

"You do know that I can hear the both of you clearly." I deadpan. From the corner of my eye, I can see the boys jump away from me in shock like they didn't expect me to hear them even though they are right next to me.

"Crap! She heard us!" Natsu exclaims with his arms and legs up in a weird karate pose.

"Does she have dragon slayer hearing?" Happy asks as he copies Natsu's position like they are some sort of comedy duo. I scoff at this.

"Are y'all really being serious?" I ask while quirking up an eyebrow at them. Their shocked faces stay frozen in place and I can't help but start cracking up at the two.

"You guys are just too much!" I manage to exclaim between laughs. I stopped walking when they froze and I wrap one arm around my middle and I have to reach out to grab Natsu's shoulder for support with the other as I keep laughing. My sides hurt after laughing for a few minutes and when I start calming down I lean up against his warm side to recover my breath.

"Hehe, thank you. I really needed that laugh." I manage to chuckle out between breaths. I really did need that laugh, it helped drive away the cloud of depression I been hiding since this morning. I peek up at Natsu through my hair that has fallen over my face. I gratefully smile up at him and whisper softly, "Thank you." And I meant it from the bottom of my heart.

He gives me that happy grin of his that makes me blush while replying, "No problem, Crispy." An indescribable feeling of warmth spreads through me as I stand there looking at him.

"They lllllike each other!" shouts out Happy with that intense look on his face. I look down at him while he is standing on the ground looking up at us and my mischievous side takes hold.

"Happy!" Natsu cries out in irritation, a frown on his face.

"And what if we do?" I ask the cat matter-of-factly as I wrap my arms around Natsu's waist with a sly smirk on my face.

"She admits it!" Happy shouts out gleefully while waving all his paws in the air as he takes flight.

"Hey! Wait a minute!" Natsu shouts out, trying to get his friend's attention by reaching out to catch him.

Not paying attention, the cat does a back-flip in the air as he says, "I have to tell everyone!" Before another word is uttered, he zooms off leaving us to ourselves. Natsu stomps in place as his temperature rises.

"Dammit, Happy! Get back here!" Natsu roars out and fire spews out of his mouth at the same time. Unconcerned about his fire hurting me despite the way its going everywhere, I calmly stand there holding him still until he gives up and slumps over in defeat. He then straightens up and rounds on me.

"Why do you keep doing that?!" he whines. I snicker at his obvious distress and pink cheeks.

"Because it's fun." I chirp at him. He gives me a look of complete disbelief as his mouth works silently like he is trying to say something. I stand up on my toes so I can lean up closer to his face. His cheeks turn pink as I near. I give him a small smirk before pressing a quick kiss on his cheek. Dropping back down, I spin away from him as I release my grip around his waist. I walk down the street in the direction we were going before and stop after a few steps.

Looking back at him over my shoulder, I call out, "Well? Aren't you coming, Natsu-kuuun?" I purr out the kun part and watch as his face turns bright red. I remember from my talk with Levy that this world uses the same honorifics as the Japanese of my world does. Hence, why I called him kun as part of the teasing.

Without waiting for an answer, I face forwards again as I continue to walk down the street while holdings my hands behind my back. I let a large smile grow on my face as I start to hum with pleasure. _Messing with him is so much fun!_

* * *

And so went Krysti's new life for the first week and a half. She would wake up in the pre-dawn gloom and would trek outside to vent out her dwindling hope of ever seeing her parents again. After calming down from crying, she would head back inside to clean up from the night before and make breakfast.

Happy and Natsu would wake up to a hot breakfast made by their new housemate and Krysti made sure Natsu would have a few cups of the special ginger tea to help reduce his motion sickness. Each day that he drank the tea his motion sickness became less noticeable, much to the dragon slayer's delight. He always made sure to thank her profusely for her hard work and kindness to which she received with a small blush.

Happy, of course, would try to embarrass her by calling her out on the blushes, but to no avail which irritated the blue feline. Natsu was surprised the next morning, after coming home from his first two day mission since the older woman moved in, to find a thermos being pushed into his arms just as he was starting to leave for the guild.

"Here." Krysti said gently as she made sure he grabbed the thermos. "This way you won't have to go without your tea and you'll have something to refresh you after riding transportation." Overwhelmed by her thoughtfulness, he looked at his roommate who was warmly smiling at him and did the only thing he could think to do. He hugged her. Her breath whooshes out as she is wrapped up in a crushing hug. Krysti returns the hug as her shock wears off and Natsu's response is to hug her tighter. Happy of course made a cutting remark which made the easily embarrassed dragon slayer riled up and angry. The brunette just closed her eyes and smiled.

After they would eat breakfast, all three of them would head to Fairy Tail. They would laugh, joke, and talk the whole way there. There was rarely a silent moment during their trek. Upon arriving, they would separate to go do their individual activities. Natsu and Happy would meet with their team to go and take on simple missions that wouldn't take more than a day or two.

Krysti on the other hand would either be with Levy, if she wasn't on a mission, Lucy between missions, or Mira for the rest of the time to learn how to read the language of the world and to learn more about it. All four girls bonded to something akin to sisters very quickly with the brunette taking over as the eldest. Although when it came to guild related things, Mira would take the lead.

Krysti would also take lessons from other guild members on how to best bring out her magical ability, if she had any besides her odd fire-resistance. She also learned about how magic was used for everyday tasks to the point that it was considered mundane even by non-mage standards. Even the smallest magical item magic wowed her, much to the enjoyment of the guild.

Her child-like wonder to such simple and commonplace things endeared herself to them. From the pen that can use light to write in the air, to Lacrima, the magical crystals the power almost everything in this world. Krysti literally drooled when she was shown the wind-reading glasses. Being able to read many times faster than normal greatly appealed to the brunette bookworm.

She took to her lessons with an fervor after Levy promised that Krysti could borrow them once she is able to competently read. The three girls were patient teachers for the brunette to which she was thankful. Erza decided to help soon after the lessons started which brought back bad flashbacks to Natsu when she taught him vocabulary while they were children. As the red-head's over-enthusiastic nature takes over and starts outlining an extremely harsh and unrealistic training scenario, Krysti raises up her hand in protest.

Every noise in the guild comes to a sudden standstill. The newest member of the guild was refusing an order given by Erza. The Erza, known as the strongest female in Fairy Tail and lesser known also as the scariest female in Fairy Tail. Everyone but Team Natsu held their breaths, worried what is going to happen to the new girl. Krysti looks defiantly up at Erza, who is standing over her, and tells the armored mage that she refuses to take part in Erza's plan. Everyone held their breath, scared that the new girl was going to die.

Lucy, Gray, Happy and Natsu have a good idea what is going to happen, but even they are still shocked when Erza respectfully accepts the refusal and doesn't try to force her will on the older brunette. Krysti goes back to her reading lesson after professing her thanks and Erza moves off to the bar to get some strawberry cake. The rest of the guild is absolutely stunned. Never has Erza backed off like that when she wants to do something for someone, no matter how much they refuse.

Only a direct order from the Master or someone in the Magic Council could stop the eager red-head when she sets her mind on something. Respect and awe for their newest member soars all the while the object of the guild's wonder is sitting blissfully oblivious with her nose in a children's book. As the day wears on Krysti does notice that more of the guild is engaging her in conversation and offering their help in various matters.

She just pegs it to the fact that they are getting over some sort of shyness and not the fact that she impressed the hell out of them. Krysti would split her time in the guild from learning to read to learning how to access and release her magic. Everyone was in agreement, unless she was in a highly stressful and probably life-threatening situation, meditation was the best way to learn.

Krysti has a hard time meditating as she was told to do to be able to access and draw out her magic. She had no trouble believing in herself, and she does feel something well up inside her during meditation. Yet despite everything she tries, she just can't quite seem to let it out as she is suppose to.

Something keeps blocking the way like there is a giant plug keeping her magic inside and then her imagination would take hold and ruin her concentration. At one point, with her active imagination, she starts singing and dancing to the chorus of 'Let It Go' from the Disney movie Frozen. Krysti cackles like crazy while the rest of the guild looks on in confusion, not sure why the song was so funny for the brunette.

They soon learn to ignore the woman's random giggle fits, and stop trying to understand what is making her laugh from her previous failed attempts at trying to explain her world's pop culture. The explanations only served to make them more confused than before. Krysti doesn't blame them, a lot of times her world's pop culture confused her as well.

She would stay in town until late in the evening practicing drawing out her magic or other such activities while waiting to see whether or not her friends will return from a mission. If they did, she would walk home with Natsu and Happy to go and train with them. After training, they would relax and talk about their day before going to sleep. If the team didn't come back, Krysti would walk to her new home by herself and clean the house before going to bed.

She didn't find any washing machines or dryers in the house much to her chagrin. So she had to use the old fashioned washtub and rub board that was like what her mother used to use. It was hard, but satisfying work. In a way, it helped her feel closer to her mother despite the distance. A few days later, as a way to help her learn her way around town and to put her reading skills to the test between lessons, she started doing small non-magical errands around town.

Mainly doing some shopping for older people who have a hard time going out on their own. Krysti found the additional walking to be real good exercise for herself as well. The money she earned through these small jobs was used to buy more ingredients for dinner and to make tea with. Macao had her take his son, Romeo, during these small missions so he can help her when she needed it when came to reading the grocery lists.

It also served as a way to have someone responsible to baby-sit the young boy as well. Romeo was hesitant as first but soon warmed up to the newest guild member after she helped him with some bullies that wouldn't leave him alone. He looks up to her greatly and before long they were inseparable. They played games, they learned to read together, they learned more about magic, and helped out around town.

Levy, Lucy, and Mira were already quite fond of him and soon he was like a little brother to all of them. Macao would let Romeo stay over with Krysti at Natsu's home on the days that Natsu's team would be gone longer than a day so she wouldn't be lonely. It was pointed out to her that it wasn't completely altruistic on Macao's part. With Romeo out of the house, his father was able to pursue more women in the lame excuse of trying to find him a new 'mother'.

The older woman grew extremely fond of the small boy and was very grateful to Macao for letting Romeo stay with her as much as he is, reasons being pure or not. Having the small, energetic child around helped her not miss her family quite as much. With Romeo in tow, Krysti also went to visit Auntie Vi often.

The older woman adored the boy and would make sure there was plenty of sweets when he came around with the brunette. They talked often, the shopkeeper being extremely helpful when a word that neither Krysti nor Romeo could figure out came up in the lists. She knew her way around Magnolia better than the back of her hand. She even pointed out a very convenient shortcut that ran between the marketplace and Lucy's home. Krysti made note to show it to the blonde if she hasn't already found it.

The talks were greatly beneficial to the brunette and she greatly appreciated Auntie Vi's kindness. A week after her injury, Krysti went to visit the hospital to get her nose checked on. The nurses removed the bandages, and after some painful poking and prodding by the doctor it was declared that her nose was going to be just fine. With most of the swelling down, all was left was the purple-ish bruises across her face. Dr. Shibiwa gave her some ointment that not only conceals the bruises, but helps them heal faster as well. Krysti accepts the ointment with a wide smile and blushing face.

The brunette couldn't help but hug the nurses and the doctor out of relief and happiness when they said she was free to go. Before leaving, she was told to try not to get hit in the nose again for she might not be as fortunate next time. That night, when Krysti's friends returned from their mission, they were greeted by the sight of a happily grinning brunette. The five went and enveloped her in a big group hug when they saw the bandages were removed. Lucy and Happy were the most excited of them all. They wanted to celebrate, which of course got the rest of the guild joining in the celebrations that resulted with the normal brawl.

During this brawl, Lucy was given some news that excited her greatly. Erza deemed it time to give her the Golden Gate Key Sagittarius. She was beyond ecstatic to get the 5th Golden Key and Krysti made her promise not to make a contract with the spirit without her being there. Levy's team soon showed up and Lucy had to go show off her new key to the petite bluenette leaving Krysti behind to watch over them fondly.

Krysti made sure to stay away from the brawl this time, not wanting to risk breaking her nose again while it is still healing. Night falls and most of the partiers have either been knocked out, passed out drunk, or gone home already. With some help from Mirajane, Krysti was able to get Natsu on her shoulders as he slept peacefully. She took him back home and dropped him rather heavily in his hammock before going to bed herself.

It was only 3 days after this when trouble started.

* * *

The normal group of Natsu, Happy, Gray, Lucy, and Erza were coming back from a two day mission while walking down the streets of their town. They were heading back to the guildhall in high spirits, the mission being a complete success. Natsu and Gray were verbally bickering as usual. Their scuffles calmed down somewhat after the incident of hitting Krysti in the face with her shopping bags. They still feel guilty over that.

As they get closer to the guild, the whispers of the townsfolk catches their attention. Snatches of conversations could be heard as they are stared at and this starts to make the group feel ill at ease. They stop walking once they notice that something is wrong up ahead. The outline of Fairy Tail isn't right. As one they start running towards their home, and stop when they get to the front of the building. A mixture of fear, anger, confusion, sadness can be seen on their faces.

"That's…" gasps out Gray as he surveys the damage.

"What happened here…?" Erza asks breathlessly. Large iron columns are sticking out of the building, making it look like a giant pin cushion.

Lucy, in a state of shock, can only stutter out, "W-what?"

"Our…Our guild has been…" growls out Natsu, the anger clearly seen on his face and in his posture as he looks at his damaged home. Happy and Lucy just stand there in complete shock.

"What in the world happened?" Erza demands angrily.

"Phantom…" calls out a soft, yet sad voice from behind them. All 5 of them turn to see a distraught Mirajane standing there.

"What did you say?" asks Gray, not believing his ears.

Still extremely angry, Natsu asks in a deadly calm voice, "Did you say Phantom?"

"I hate to say it, but they got us." explains Mira, obviously upset over the whole affair. She steps forward and walks past her guild mates to go into the ruined guildhall. They follow behind her silently, some seething in barely contained anger, others in depression. She leads them into the guild and maneuvers around the wreckage to the stairs that lead the way to the basement.

As they walk down the stairs, voices were heard by the new arrivals. At the bottom of the stairs, it opens up to a makeshift beer hall. Even though the beer was flowing as freely as ever, the mood in the guild was somber. Krysti was sitting at a table with Romeo in her lap and next to Levy and her team.

Occupied with their reading lessons she didn't notice when her friends came down the stairs. Mira led them over to far wall where the Master is sitting in front of the temporary request board. He has been drinking heavily by the pink blush that tainted his cheeks.

"Yo! Welcome back!" he calls out heartily, like there is nothing wrong as he extends a hand out in greeting.

"Huh?" is all Lucy says as she is mystified at the Master's much more inebriated than normal state.

"We have returned." Erza returns the Master's greeting in a formal manner.

Angry and confused, Natsu asks in a demanding tone, "Gramps, what're you sittin' around here for?"

"How was it, Lucy? The job go well?" the Master asks, clearly ignoring Natsu which causes him to seethe.

"Yeah…" she answers weakly, unsure what to make of the situation.

"Master, don't you understand the situation we're in?" Erza demandingly asks of the old man.

"They wreaked our guild!" adds in the dragon slayer in a furious growl. Looking completely unworried the Master keeps smiling at the so-called Strongest Team in Fairy Tail.

"Now, now… Calm down. It's not something to get riled up about." the Master says before taking another gulp of his beer. His words stun the group in front of him. "Phantom? This is as far as those idiot's will go." he nonchalantly says between swallows before setting the tankard down again with a satisfied sigh. "Attacking the guild when nobody was here? Who'd take pleasure in that?" he continued in a disbelieving tone.

Surprised, Erza repeats what the Master said, "Nobody was here?" Mira gives them a sad look while standing near the Master's side.

"It seems the attack happened in the middle of the night." she informs them in a softer than usual voice.

Relieved, Erza says, "So that's why no one is injured. I suppose it's one small thing to be thankful for."

"If they can only manage a sneak-attack, we shouldn't even give those bastards the time of day. They aren't worth our time!" the Master declares dismissively. Getting riled up more and more at the Master's uncaring words, Natsu finally lets loose his temper and crashes his fist against a wooden crate which creates a hole where he hit it. The resulting crash catches the guild's attention and startles Krysti out of her studies.

Looking to where the noise came from, she sees her friends standing near the Master. She places Romeo down on the seat she was just in and with a quiet 'stay here' she goes to welcome them back with an eager bounce to her step. She has a relieved look on her face to see that they look uninjured which quickly becomes a concerned frown when she hears Natsu almost yelling at their Master.

"This ain't _right,_ man! I won't be satisfied until we go and crush these guys!" Natsu roars out, feeling pissed off at the Master's easy-going attitude.

"This discussion is over. Until the upstairs is repaired, we'll take work requests from here." the Master states in a tone much more serious than how he looks. By this time Krysti has trotted up between Gray and Lucy, waiting for the right time to greet them without interrupting.

"This isn't time for doing jobs!" Natsu yells out.

"Natsu! I've had enough out of you!" the Master yelled back. A loud smack could be heard across the room.

With a mortified look, Lucy asks weakly, "And you spank _me_, why?" Hearing her say this, Krysti looks over to see that yes indeed, Lucy is getting spanked by the Master. A low growl escapes her mouth as she narrows her eyes in a fierce glare at the little man. As time went on, Krysti viewed the blonde more and more as a little sister. The brunette's over protectiveness kicks in as her anger flares up at this blatant sexual harassment.

Mira angrily puffs out her cheeks while putting her hands on her hips and directs a mean look towards the Master before saying, "Master, I'll get angry!"

Krysti slaps away the Master's arm and snarls out, "Screw that! I am angry! I don't care if you _are _the Master, don't you _dare_ lay your hands on Lucy like that again!" His arm immediately retracts as he holds it up in a salute and innocently chuckles. The 6 other mages look back at Krysti in shock, not only for her uncharacteristically angry outburst, but also because they didn't realize she was there.

Ignoring them for the moment, she growls even louder at the old man's attempt to appear innocent. He hops down off of the makeshift table he was sitting on and starts to run off.

"Gramps!" Natsu shouts at him.

"Get back here you perverted old fart and apologize!" Krysti angrily yells out to the retreating form with a upraised fist.

"Just a second…Gotta pee." he laughs out merrily. Krysti continues to growl deeply until he was out of sight. Erza gives the older woman a reproachful look, but doesn't say anything while Lucy quietly thanks her new friend. The brunette lets out a haughty snort before letting the anger melt from her expression as she turns to face her friends.

"Welcome back everyone. I'm so glad that nothing happened to ya'll while on that mission." she says with obvious relief. The others greet her back all except for Natsu who is looking down at the ground sullenly, still upset over the Master's attitude.

"Why're you ok with this, Gramps?" he mutters to himself dejectedly.

"Natsu…" Mira gently calls out to the distressed fire mage. "This is just as hard for the Master, you know? But outright conflict between guilds is forbidden by the Council."

"Well they're the ones who attacked first!" he cries out while stomping his feet in renewed anger. Seeing his distress, Krysti steps towards him and reaches up to put both of her hands on his shoulders in an attempt to calm him down. He suddenly stops in surprise as he looks at her like he just now noticed that she was with them. Mirajane addresses Natsu's concern as he is being calmed down.

"That's not the problem. Fiore cannot afford to have magic guilds get into outright war with each other. The results would be disastrous." she says in a stronger tone of voice than the sad, quiet one she has been using all day. Gray and the others look down in depression over not being able to do anything while Natsu fumes silently. He has calmed down under the brunette's ministrations, but the anger is just under the surface, ready to break free at any given moment like a volcano.

"If that's how the Master feels… There is nothing we can do." says a resigned Erza. The dragon slayer grinds his teeth in annoyance while the others become even more dejected over their situation. Krysti leans over and whispers something in Natsu's ear to which he nods in agreement with. They turn to head up the stairs with Krysti holding onto one of his shoulders in case he tries something rash.

"Come on Happy, we're going home now." Natsu gruffly calls out to his best friend.

Perking up, the cat summons his wings with a loud, "Aye, sir!" before flying over to the duo going up the stairs.

"Bye Levy, Jet, Droy! I'll see'ya tomorrow! Keep studying hard Romeo!" yells out the brunette over her shoulder while waving with her free hand. A faint 'Bye' can be heard in return from more than one voice. Upon reaching the top of the stairs, the dragon slayer narrows his eyes and growls as he sees the damage his guild has suffered. Krysti tightens her grip and pushes his shoulder to turn him to face her.

"Trust in the Master. He is doing what he knows is best for the guild." She then looks down with an angry look and mutters out something softly that Natsu's sensitive ears had no trouble picking up. "Even if he is a perverted old fart." Hearing this, Natsu starts snickering before he busts out in laughter which startles Krysti and confuses Happy as he has no idea what was said.

"Dammit, I forgot about your dragon ears." she grumbles out in chagrin out before laughing with the man next to her. As the laughter calms down, she gets a twinkle in her eye. She lets go of his shoulder as she turns towards the entrance of the guildhall. "Come on, Pinky. I'll race ya." she says with a smirk before taking off.

Natsu stands there frozen for an instant before a matching smirk appears on his face. "I don't think so, Crispy." he says as an answer to the challenge before running after his newest friend with Happy flying right alongside him. He quickly overtakes the brunette and pulls ahead as they run through the streets. Once Natsu and Happy are out of sight, Krysti slows down her pace and lets a real smile appear as a soft look enters her eyes. She is glad that she as able to help put a smile back on the fire mage's face. The soft look turns sad as she thinks of the reason why he was so angry in the first place.

Despite being mad at his perverted tendencies, she does agree which Makarov's decision to not retaliate against Phantom Lord. Fairy Tail has to be the bigger guild and not give in to childish bullying. No one was hurt after all, and it won't take long to repair the building. Mira mentioned with how often the guild gets smashed up due to brawls that most of the guild has gotten quite good with carpentry. So the only real damage was the guild pride, but in the long run its better for the guild's reputation to not retaliate no matter how much it stung.

10 minutes later, she arrives home to find the boys working on some silly training exercises dealing with balancing rocks on their heads. She shakes her head as she chuckles at them fondly, her thoughts over the guild's situation fading away. Leaning up against a tree at the edge of the clearing, she settles down to watch their ridiculous training techniques.

By the time Natsu and Happy are done with training it's already afternoon. They sluggishly makes their way back towards the house when a now familiar scent hits Natsu's nose. He inhales deeply before picking up his pace, a wide grin splitting his face. He bursts in his house with Happy close behind to have the almost intoxicating smell of frying meat overwhelm them.

"I take it you boys are done with your training?" a cheery voice calls out to them as Happy and Natsu enter.

"Yea, I feel much better now." he replies calmly as he rounds the corner to see his housemate by the stove cooking up a late lunch. He walks up behind Krysti and leans up against her back while resting his chin on her shoulder to watch the meat frying. His mouth opens and he starts to drool at the sight of the burger in the pan.

"Jeez, Natsu you're soaked with sweat! Go take a bath and the burgers should be done when you're finished." she slightly scolds him. He makes a small noise of displeasure and she continues, "You know very well that they aren't going to cook any faster or slower with you right here. So go change clothes and take a bath while you wait."

"Fine…" he grumbles out which causes the brunette to chuckle. He reluctantly pushes himself away from the tantalizing food and makes his way to the dresser that has now clean clothes in it for him. Grabbing a random set, he walks easily towards the bathroom in his now much cleaner house. He shakes his head wonderingly as he barely recognizes the place without the mess that he grew used to throughout the years.

"Do you want to join him, Happy? It will be a bit before I'm finished cooking." Krysti says over her shoulder to the blue cat sitting on the table. He crosses his arms with a serious look on his face.

"I don't want to eat burgers today." he states. Krysti raises an eyebrow, knowing where this is going and decides to play along.

"Oh? Well, what do you want to eat?" she asks seriously, but with a playful smile teasing the corner of her lips. Happy closes his eyes like he is deep in thought. "Could you maybe want some chicken?" Happy shakes his head in disagreement.

"How about a nice juicy pork loin?" she continued. Krysti flips the burger she is working on before making a small hmm like she is thinking. She glances back at the cat to see a look of distress on his face. Taking pity, she reaches inside a special basket made just for Happy and turns to face him.

"Hehe. Alright, I know what you want little guy. Here you go." she says warmly before tossing a fish at Happy. Whatever Happy said fell on deaf ears as Krysti froze in place as she glances towards the bathroom while she is turning back to the stove.

Natsu forgot to close the bathroom door and was in the middle of stripping off his pants. She takes in a long admiring look at his well-muscled body as a heavy blush forms on her cheeks. Its not the first time Krysti has admired his physique, it's hard not to when he wears an open vest that shows off his chiseled muscles.

This, however, is the first time she saw so much. Forcefully tearing her eyes away from the sight of her nude, albeit attractive, roommate, she stares at the cooking hamburger as she debates with herself. Taking the burger and flipping it again, she reaches a decision as her cheeks become even more red.

"Hey, dragon-boy! Ya might want to close the door _before_ you strip, unless you're planning on giving us a show. I wouldn't mind it if you do, your ass is pretty cute." she yells in Natsu's direction. She makes sure she is firmly facing the stove to hide her red cheeks from both males in the house. A quick slam of the bathroom door is her answer.

Overcome by mirth at imagining what his expression was like, she cackles to herself for a moment before quieting down soon after to finish cooking. Behind her, Happy is holding both of his paws over his face in an attempt to stifle his laughter at the priceless look on Natsu's face when Krysti talked about his butt. Without much success.

"Bwuahahahaha!" Happy busts out laughing loudly, which causes Krysti to jump slightly in surprise. Quickly taking the well done burger out of the pan and placing it on a plate, the brunette then turns around to look askance at the little blue cat rolling around on the table in mirth. She puts her hands on her hips with a half smile on her slightly pink face as she watches Happy.

"So what got you in stitches over there?" she asks, partly amused herself.

"Natsu's… face … when you… talked about… butt!" Happy was able to wheeze out between laughs before bursting into a renewed fit. He laughs so hard that he falls to the floor as he rolls off the table. Krysti chuckles along as her face reddens again at the mention of her nude roommate.

"I can hear you!" a muffled but clearly miffed voice calls out from the bathroom. This causes the occupants in the kitchen to laugh even louder than before. When her laughter dies down, Krysti turns back to the stove to continue cooking their afternoon meal. As she finishes cooking most of the food, she switches her attention to the tea kettle that she bought and started on making a, hopefully, improved version of the ginger tea. She bought some fenugreek seeds earlier that morning to go with the ginger, lemon, and honey already used in the tea.

What Natsu doesn't know is that she has also been using other herbs in their food that has been said to help with motion sickness. Basil, marjoram, and rosemary mixed in with other spices are added into each meal. Even if they don't help with his motion sickness, at least it helps the food taste better. Krysti also plans on getting a cookbook to help her make more things to eat besides the simple meals she has been able to make so far.

Setting the kettle to boil, she turns back to the stove and begins to prepare a special burger for Natsu. Krysti has been spending the time while Natsu and Happy have been away on how to flambé and tonight she was confident enough in her skills to give it a try. With the patty ready, she busies herself with making a salad for the three of them to eat. Even though all of them hate salad, she is making everyone in the house eat healthier.

Hearing a ruckus coming from the bathroom signals Krysti that Natsu is finishing up and its time to go to work on the special treat for the dragon slayer. She hears the door slam open and looking over she sees him with his scarf wrapped around his forehead, a towel around his neck and a normal shirt with pair of shorts that both look suspiciously like hers. She narrows her eyes at that, but decides against saying anything, for now.

"You were right Krys, I do feel much better now." Natsu comments as he plops into his usual chair. The brunette raises an eyebrow but doesn't turn away from the stove.

"Of course I'm right. So I'm Krys now?" she questions.

"Yup. Lucy is Luce, so you're Krys." he simply states. She laughs heartily at that.

"What about Gray?" she asks him in curiosity between laughs.

"Ice-prick." he shoots back immediately causing another round of laughter with the brunette.

"And Erza?" she continues. An alarmed squeak causes Krysti to look back to see that Natsu is now sitting ramrod straight in the chair and has a terrified look in his eyes.

"Ooo-kay then… No nickname for Erza, at least from you." she says uncertainly. He nods vigorously in response before shivering. The older woman turns back to the last burger and gets ready to finish it up with the fire. Steadying herself, she breathes in deep before making her move. As the flames shot up and stayed in just the pan, she lets out a cheer in victory. This catches both boy's attention and they lean to the side to see what she is doing.

It quickly becomes apparent to them when she turns and presents a hamburger on fire to Natsu. His eyes sparkle in delight for he rarely gets to enjoy food on fire outside the guild. He darts out a hand to scoop up some flame before Krysti can even put the plate down. Smacking his hand for being impatient, she smiles warmly at his obvious enjoyment of the flames. He grins impishly as he sucks down the snatched bit of fire, not caring that he got hit in the process.

She sets out the rest of the food on the table and brings him a cup of the tea that she brewed earlier. Grabbing her own food, the salad, and extra fish for Happy the brunette then goes to sit and eat with the boys. The troubles with the Phantom Lord guild forgotten for now, they settle into their usual routine and enjoy the rest of the day together.

* * *

The next morning Natsu and Krysti are talking and laughing along the way to the guild while Happy is flying beside them and snacking on a fish. A commotion catches their attention and with look and a nod, they all rush through the town until they reach the Southgate Park.

It was a park smaller than a football field, made in a depression in the ground. A large oak-like tree in the middle that has a path in a circle around it. A group of people have already gathered in the park around the tree. Yet, it wasn't the tree itself that people were looking at.

It's what is on the tree that had people gathering around it.

The trio arrives at the same time as Erza, Gray, and Lucy. Together they push through the crowd, asking to be let through since they are with Fairy Tail. When they reach the front, they are greeted by a horrible sight. 3 people hanging by giant iron bands are suspended on the tree. Bruises and bloody gashes adorn their bodies while their clothes are in blood-smeared tatters. The worst of all is the symbol painted on the stomach of the petite blue-haired girl in the middle.

The symbol of Phantom Lord.

Gasps overtake all 6 mages which quickly turn into almost overwhelming anger at seeing their friends beaten up so. A dark aura starts to overtake the more aggressive members of the group.

"Levy-chan!" calls out the blonde to her best friend.

"Jet! Droy!" Gray shouts out, trying to wake them up. The others just stand there, looking at their friends as their anger starts to turn into rage. Natsu almost bursts into flames from the power of his rage alone. The air becomes unbearably hot to those near him except for the brunette standing next to him. As the townsfolk step back away from the dragon slayer, Krysti shuffles closer to put a hand on his shoulder, not to calm him, but more to calm her.

"Phantom!" He snarls out, his fury evident to everyone. Footsteps can be heard slowly walking up to the 6 Fairy Tail members.

Without taking her eyes off of her injured friends, Erza calls out in a deadly calm voice, "Master…" The little man who is the Master of Fairy Tail, walks in front of the crowd to gaze up at the sight of his children hanging on the tree. His expression is unseen by everyone there who was not spellbound by the sight of the beaten up trio.

After a moment, he calmly starts speaking, "I can stand being reduced to a run-down beer hall…" His voice lowers and becomes more gruff as he continues. "But no parent can stand idle while the blood of his children is spilled!" At this, his grip on his walking stick becomes so strong that it bursts into splinters. Yellow light pours from his body as his magic is unleashed, creating a vortex of wind around him just from the pressure alone.

"To war!" he calls out harshly while his expression screams 'Death'.

"We need to get them down." states Krysti with an uneasy calm around her. Erza nods and uses her magic to summon swords to pry the bands off of their friends. Freed from the shackles, they fall to ground only to be caught by Lucy, Gray, and Happy. Krysti and Erza go to help them carry their injured friends to the hospital with the Master behind them, still leaking out magic.

The crowd, already backing away from the Master from his earlier display of strength, immediately dissipates as soon as they see the rage etched on his face. Natsu stays behind, still staring at the spot where his friends were hanging.

"Phantom. You will pay!" he promises in a near silent whisper, his fury near the boiling point. He stands there for a few more seconds before turning around and stalking off after his teammates. At the hospital, Jet, Droy, and Levy are all put into the same room. It was a brighter and more comfortable room than the one Krysti was in less than 2 weeks ago.

Curtains hung between each member of Team Shadowgear as they laid in the hospital beds, recovering from their ordeal. While in the hallway outside of the room where their injured friends are, a nurse exits the room with a chart listing all of the injuries sustained. Lucy pushes her way past the nurse before she could finish saying how the three were faring. Krysti rushes in after her, equally worried about her friends.

Running into the room, Lucy almost throws herself on the bed that contained Levy, crying out her sorrow. Krysti entering a bit slower, stands silently behind her blonde teammate with tears forming in the corners of her eyes. The anger and fury the brunette first felt washes away at the sight of her injured friends laying there almost lifeless in the hospital beds.

Distress claims her and she silently cries alongside Lucy. Dropping down to her knees, she grabs Lucy for a hug and they both cling to each other as they cry out the tears of the sadness that stabs their hearts. Their tears slow down to a trickle after what feels like forever and the girls slowly, reluctantly let go of their hold onto one another.

They clasp hands and refuse to let go, each the other's anchor to keep from being swept away by grief yet again. They look over their friends in the beds, with tear stained faces and red eyes. As the shadows in the room move in sync with the sun outside, Krysti pushes herself up off the floor and pulls Lucy up with her.

The blonde is still sniffling, and doesn't complain when she is pushed into a chair beside Levy's bed. Taking a deep breath to steel her nerves and control her emotions, the brunette walks out of the room to face the others. Upon exiting, she notices that no one is in the hallway.

Further inspection shows that the lobby is empty as well. Tracking down a nurse, Krysti learns that the others have already left to go to the guild. The brunette heads back to the room containing her friends and informs Lucy of the news.

"I want you to stay here. I'm going back to the guild to see what they are going to do." she tells the younger woman softly. Lucy nods without taking her eyes off of Levy. With a heavy heart, Krysti wretches herself from the sight and marches purposely towards the wreaked guildhall. Minutes later she arrives to find it strangely quiet. Unnerved by the stillness, she quickly enters to find Mirajane to be the only one in the whole guild.

"Where is everyone?" Krysti asks wonderingly. Mira gets a sad, but angry look on her face.

"They went to Phantom Lord. The Master declared war after seeing what happened to Levy and the others. Everyone in the guild is going over there right now." she states in frustration.

"Not everyone. Lucy is still at the hospital. I'm going to head back myself, I don't want to leave her alone for too long. I think she was the most upset out of all of us to see that." Krysti says sadly, grief threatening to take over again.

"Don't stay by yourself if you can help it." Mira cautions. This causes Krysti to pause and raise an eyebrow at the other woman.

"What about you? You were alone when I got here." Krysti asks as she looks around for any possible hidden guild mates.

"Someone has to stay at the guildhall. Don't worry about me, I'll be fine. If Phantom comes by, I can do this." replies Mira just before changing her appearance to a kindly old grandmother. Krysti jumps a bit in surprise, forgetting that the younger woman was able to perform magic as well.

"Well, I just hope then that they don't want to hurt little old ladies as well." the brunette retorts as she recovers from her shock. Old lady Mirajane chuckles and waves the older woman on as she changes back to regular Mirajane.

"Alright, alright. I'll get going. Sure you don't want to stay with us?" Krysti asks. The white-haired woman just shakes her head sadly and the brunette turns to exit out of the guild. She pauses partway through and looks sadly back at Mira who is softly smiling at her newest friend.

"Just, please watch yourself, ok? I don't want you to get hurt as well. Phantom may come back to attack again while the guild is gone." the older woman comments in a very serious tone. Mira's smile becomes more warm at the brunette's concern as Krysti heads back to the hospital. Arriving at the building minutes later, she notices Lucy just exiting through the doors. Jogging now, the older woman reaches the blonde mage swiftly.

"Where are the others?" Lucy asks as Krysti got within talking distance.

Panting slightly, Krysti answers, "They all left to fight Phantom Lord, only us and Mirajane are here."

Hearing this, Lucy pouts, "I can't believe they left us behind! We want to fight and get payback for Levy and her team." Krysti nods and takes the younger girl into her arms for a tight hug.

"I understand how you feel, I want to tear them apart for what they did. But we can't go and fight now. Personally I don't even know where to go to even try to follow them. What's done is done." she lets Lucy go and watches the blonde wipe a tear from her eye.

"I need to pick up some food for my apartment, will you come with me? I don't feel like being alone." Lucy says softly. Krysti turns to wrap an arm around Lucy's shoulder.

"Of course I'll stay. I don't want to be alone either right now." Krysti whispers back. The two girls slightly smile at each and link arms before going down to the market place to shop. They each buy a bag of food and start walking towards Lucy's apartment. Remembering about the shortcut that Auntie Vi told her about, Krysti takes Lucy down the series of side streets and alleys that run almost right to the blonde's home.

"I still can't believe that everyone left us behind. Levy-chan and her team need someone to care for them, so I guess that's us." Lucy complains. Before Krysti can respond, rain starts pouring out from a suddenly stormy sky when it was sunny just two seconds ago.

"Crap! A summer shower!" Krysti curses as she and Lucy look disbelieving at the sky. In the mist that formed just as quickly as the rain, a figure approaches. The girls both step back into defensive positions.

"Who is it?" Lucy calls out to the figure.

A soft feminine voice floats out to them, "Drip, drip, drop. Yes. Juvia is the rain-woman. Drip, drip, drop." In the mist the figure shows itself to be a woman in all blue clothes glaring ahead. Even her hair was blue and it was in two large curls on each side of her head. The girls are at unease with this strange woman walking towards them.

Getting close to the two friends, Juvia asks, "Who are you two?" Stepping to the side to let Juvia by, Krysti and Lucy watch as she walks past them.

Lucy decides to asks, "Um, who might you be?"

Juvia only says, "Drip, drip, drop…."

"What?" asks Krysti in puzzlement.

Juvia opens a pink heart umbrella that is shaped like a jellyfish as she replies, "It was a pleasure. Fare thee well." Which causes the other two girls to look at each other in disbelief.

"Like, what the hell?" Krysti mutters out in frustration.

"Non, non, non!" a mysterious male voice calls out from behind all three women. They turn to look for the owner of the voice. "Non, non, non, non, non, non, non!" the voice says again and they see the road rising in front of them, starting to take on some sort of shape.

"Non, non, non, non!" the voice becomes clearer and girls can tell that the voice is coming from the shape in front of them. It becomes a green-haired, brown-suit wearing man with a monocle. He is in a dramatic pose as he says, "With non of 3,3,7,1 I say to you, bonjour!"

"A French dude, seriously?" Krysti mutters again as she looks at the newcomer slightly askance.

"Its another weirdo!" Lucy grumbles out, not believing her bad luck. The weird guy starts rocking side-to-side as he looks ahead to address the woman in blue.

"Juvia-sama, you mustn't abandon your job now." he says in an almost sing-song voice.

"Monsieur Sol." she says in the same soft tone. Monsieur Sol suddenly appears next to Juvia and holds his monocle in one hand.

"My monocle, it whispers to me, yes. It tells me this mademoiselle is our beloved cible." he says in a totally non creepy way as he points to Lucy with his other hand.

"Ah, so it was this girl." Juvia responds in her monotone voice.

"Cible? Target?" Lucy whispers out. Krysti turns to look at her in surprise.

The weird guy bends to the side in front of Juvia and says, "I do apologize for the late introduction. My name is Sol, one of the Element 4. People call me Sol of the Land… Please call me Monsieur Sol."

Lucy takes a step back before saying angrily, "The Element 4? Phantom!" Eyes widening in realization, Krysti steps protectively in front of Lucy while dropping her groceries.

Sol says, "Correct. We two have come to collect you for the great Phantom Lord!"

"Over my dead body!" snarls out Krysti, Sol just ignores her as he continues.

Extending a hand towards Juvia, he says, "And this is the rain-woman of the Element 4. People call her Juvia of the Deep." A clatter is heard as Lucy throws down her groceries as she makes a grab for her keys that essential to her magic.

"Lucy! Run! I'll hold them off!" Krysti shouts as she makes a dash towards the Phantom mages.

"I won't run! How dare you do such a thing to Levy-chan!" Lucy cries out in anger. Krysti goes for a roundhouse punch to Sol and gets knocked backwards and down to the ground easily. She starts to get back up when she notices her arm won't move. Looking back Krysti sees her arm and Lucy is trapped in a bubble of water. With horrified eyes, Krysti struggles to get into the water to get to Lucy.

"Non, non, non! With non of 3, I correct your error! Destroying your guild and attacking Levy-sama was all the work of Gajeel-sama. Well, it is true that all of us in the guild were for the idea, however…" Sol calls out in an almost gleeful manner.

"Let her go you bastards!" Krysti roars out. A feeling of power wells up inside her as she becomes enraged about how they are drowning the girl that she thinks of as a little sister.

"Non, non, non, non! With non of 4, I simply cannot let her go! It is for the great Phantom Lord that we must take her with us." Sol says with a waggling finger. Lucy is pounding against the edge but cannot make a dent in it. Krysti keeps trying to break the bubble with everything she can, her rage at being helpless to save her friend growing.

"What is this? Let me go!" Lucy cries out from inside the water. Krysti roars again and tries to push herself inside to get to the blonde.

"Juvia's water lock cannot be broken." says the rain woman, never changing her tone. Lucy's eyes start to close and her struggles weaken as she runs out of air. Seeing this, Krysti renews her struggles with an almost animalistic frenzy.

"I SWEAR I"LL RIP YOUR HEADS OFF AND SHIT DOWN YOUR NECKS IF YOU HARM HER!" the brunette screams in fury. Everything that is bubbling within her feels like it is about to burst.

"Très bien" Sol says completely unconcerned about the raging woman caught in the water.

"Do not fear. Juvia will not kill her. Because it's Juvia's job to bring back… Lucy Heartfilia." Juvia states.

"I WONT LET YOU HAVE HER! YOU'LL HAVE TO KILL ME FIRST!" screams out Krysti at the top of her lungs.

"Victoire! That can be easily arranged." says Sol in sadistic pleasure.

"We have captured the target. Drip, drip, drop…" says Juvia.

"LUCY!" Krysti cries out, she starts to see everything in red as the rage in her starts to overflow. Monsieur Sol steps close to the two captured women and starts to punch Krysti repeatedly. When he goes for a hit in the face, she lets out an agonized scream. Red vision turns to black as the rain continues to fall.

* * *

* song I Am- Shades of Life by Billy Gilman


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N:** Hello everyone, and thank you for all who made it this far in the story. I just have a few things I wish to say before continuing my story.

1\. I have been going back to reread the older chapters and I have noticed not only spelling and grammar errors that I missed, but in addition for some reason some of the format is messed up. Like places where I had line breaks for scene changes and point of view shifts are missing. So I plan on going back to correct these mistakes as I find them.

**So please disregard the next few chapter update messages as I will be going back to edit mistakes in earlier chapters.**

2\. I have mentioned before that I am currently writing chapter 10, so expect the updates to slow after chapter 9. I enjoy long chapters and I feel that anything under 10k words just isn't a properly sized chapter for any of my stories. Yes, I have my earlier ones, but those are when I was much younger and I don't count them.

3\. If you happen to enjoy my other works, please don't despair that I will never update those again. I update and write stories as the urge hits me. Right now I am focused on Fairy Tail, but when I feel in the mood for Naruto, I will start updating my Naruto stories.

4\. I know some people are probably feeling overwhelmed by how long it is taking me to just get to the Phantom Lord arc much less on how long it will take me to finish it. I am doing this on purpose, my goal for the story is to tell the bits that you don't see between the arcs. I want to explore more of the characters and how they interact and bond with each other during the downtime and not just when everything is going into the crapper. All the big battles that take place are things that most of you have already seen, I want to explore what you haven't. I plan on my main OC to get to know more of the side characters, even the ones within Fairy Tail that you don't see nearly as often. Also please don't be upset if I decide to skip telling certain things. If I skip it, then it happens just as it is in the manga/anime.

5\. Also, I gotten some wonderful plot bunnies for different situations for the cast of characters to be in that doesn't coincide with what the main story is to be. For example, different situations in how Gray may decide to take Krysti up on that rain check. So now and again, I may post special chapters that may be a side AU from the main story that I will make special note of so the readers won't be confused about what is going on.

Hope you enjoy this chapter and please remember that none of the Fairy Tail characters belong to me. Only Krystina, Dr. Shibiwa, Nurse Saiya Kaname, and Auntie Vi belong to me.

Previously:

_ "We have captured the target. Drip, drip, drop…" says Juvia._

_ "LUCY!" Krysti cries out, she starts to see everything in red as the rage in her starts to overflow. Monsieur Sol steps in and starts to punch Krysti repeatedly. When he goes for a hit in the face, she lets out an agonized scream. Red vision turns to black as the rain continues to fall._

* * *

Almost the entire fighting force of the guild Fairy Tail marches into Oak town, the home of Phantom Lord. The townsfolk upon seeing the murderous glares of the invading wizards, wisely shut themselves up in their homes. The town might as well not of been there at all for the attention Fairy Tail gave to it. Only one thing is on all of their minds, one unifying thought.

Phantom Will Pay!

The Master led the march with the trio dubbed the Strongest Team right behind him. Everyone else follows close behind those four. As they reach the front of the guild, which looks like an imposing stone castle, the Master nods at Natsu. With a flaming fist, he breaks open the entrance with a large explosion. The Fairy Tail wizards fill up the newly made entrance and wait for the dust to settle. Natsu stands in the enemy guildhall, hunched over and fist extended as he looks over the people who dare hurt his home and family.

The Master stands on a piece of rubble and shouts out a war cry, "Fairy Tail!" Both sides yell in anger and move in towards the other.

The war has started.

A swarm of Phantom grunts jump to overpower Natsu who happens to be the closest mage to them. His eyes narrow and he gathers his fire to slash at them before they hit. More powerful than they can handle, the grunts fall from the air burned from dragon flames.

"I don't care who…Bring it on!" Natsu roars out in challenge. The Phantom mages accept his challenge and more rush the dragon slayer, planning on taking him out. By now, the other Fairy mages have entered the guildhall and start to battle as well. Cana, the heaviest drinker in Fairy Tail who uses card magic, and Loke, the orange-haired ladies man who uses ring magic, busts into a group of Phantom mages and send them flying.

Elfman, the younger brother of Mirajane, tosses enemies into the air while Vijeeter, the black spandex suit wearing dancer, uses his dancing magic to power up his friends. Macao uses his purple fire to capture a number of mages while Wakaba uses his smoke magic to knock out the captured mages. A buckskin poncho wearing youth with raven hair, who goes by the name Alzack, pulls out a gun and shoots the Phantom mages running towards him with magic bullets.

While distracted, one mage almost gets a hit on Alzack if it wasn't for the timely intervention of the top notch shooting of Bisca, the large gun toting green-haired teammate of Alzack. She proceeds to lock on target with more mages while using her magic hunting rifle. During this, a large number of enemies target the Master thinking he will be easy to take out due to his small size.

They thought wrong.

He waits until they are in range with his eyes closed before he opens them with a release of magic. His eyes are glowing an unnatural yellow as he grows in size until he makes an elephant look small. With a roar befitting his new size, he smashes a fist into the ground and catches some of the Phantom mages under his hand. The enemy wizards are terrified at the sight and some start calling him a monster in response.

To which the Master replies in a booming voice, "You laid hands on this monster's children! Don't think any human laws will protect you!" Leery of his strength, the Phantom mages hold back from attacking. They start complaining at how the Fairy Tail wizards are really good and completely nuts in their fighting. Supporting their claims, Erza is seen cutting through innumerable mages with a sword in each hand and only in her normal armor. Reedus, the large painter with a wizard hat, paints large boars on his stomach and sends them to attack with a burst of magic.

Laki, the light purple-haired wood using mage, uses her magic to make confusing walls of attacking wood to mow down the grunts. Even Happy gets to take part of the fight. As he is about to be swarmed, he gets an intense expression on his face before flying around wildly and causing the other mages to collide with each other. Using one of his hidden talents, he pulls out all sorts of fish and other foods to beat the Phantom mages into submission.

Fed up with fighting the foot soldiers, the Master lifts his head up and booms out a challenge to the Phantom Lord's leader, "Jose, show yourself!" Erza changes into a different armor that gives her power against flames so she can deal more damage. She yells for the location of Gajeel and the Element 4, the 5 strongest known Phantom Lord wizards. Her anger at the crimes suffered by her friends and home comes close to making her lose her composure. Chaos reigns around the guildhall as Fairy fights Phantom with Fairy Tail winning for now.

As the fight rages on, the Phantom guildhall becomes more and more damaged with explosions rocking the town below. The townsfolk huddle together in fear of the on-going battle nearby. Some of the Phantoms rally together to make a concerted attack which seems to work at first. Unfortunately for them, their attacks were made with fire. Hope fades to fear as they see the flames disappear into the gullet of a pink-haired Fairy Tail wizard. Belatedly they realize that in their midst is one of Fairy Tail's more infamous members, Salamander the Fire Dragon Slayer.

Natsu's look of fury sends the nearby Phantom mages into panic-stricken terror and more than one suddenly finds themselves into needing a fresh pair of pants. Frozen, they can only just watch as Natsu's flame breath attack, Roar of the Fire Dragon, engulfs them. More mages elsewhere get the cold shoulder, quite literally in fact, from an irate Gray Fullbuster. His ice magic leaves them completely frozen in place as they are encased in ice. Erza and Laki attack together, leaving the enemies bleeding and confused.

The gun wielding duo continues to shoot down everyone who steps in their way. Gray and Natsu find themselves back-to-back fighting in sync as their contrasting elements war with the mages and each other. The other Fairy Tail wizards also form up into groups to protect each other's backs as the almost endless waves of Phantom mages continue to try to hammer them down.

"Erza!" the Master calls out from the top of a flight of stairs. The red head takes her mind off of the enemies in front of her to look at the old man who everyone in the guild loves just like a grandfather. "I'll leave the rest here to you guys!" he continues as he swats away more low magic grunts of Phantom.

"Master!" she calls out worriedly.

"Jose is likely on the top floor… I'll put him out of commission for good…" he says in a calm voice that has a deadly edge to it. Every Phantom mage that heard those words shudders in fear, beyond glad that the Makarov's ire isn't directed at them anymore.

Erza looks on in concern and whispers out, "Please be careful…", before she focuses back on the fight literally at hand. A large explosion at the huge pair of doors from the top of second floor announces Master Makarov's departure from the fight below. A moment later, a crazy laugh from above sounds out throughout the hall which catches the attention of all the fighters. Soon the laughter is followed by a crash on the ground floor. Something large stands up from a destroyed wooden sign that said Phantom Lord.

"Geheh." chuckles a deep dark voice. Hearing this, some of the members of Phantom Lord take heart as they know who it is.

Focusing on the new arrival, Erza quickly recognizes the newcomer as she announces, "The Iron Dragon Slayer… Iron Gajeel!" At the sound of his name, Gajeel looks down on all of the mages with an evil eye that seems to glow red. Jumping high into the air behind Gajeel, Nab, who uses animal magic to give him the qualities of different animals and wears a tribal outfit, goes in to punch him.

"How dare you hurt Levy!" he shouts out in anger. Just as the punch is about to make contact, Nab is suddenly struck back by a large metal pole that is extending out of Gajeel's arm. It pushes Nab into the ground and continues pushing him which causes a large furrow to appear on the floor. The attack even hits Gajeel's guild mates as if he has no regard to their safety. As the metal pole retracts, it is shown that the metal pole _is_ Gajeel's arm.

"Hey there, Trash. The Iron Dragon Slayer, Gajeel the Great, will face you now." Gajeel calls out almost cheerfully as he drops down to the ground floor with the other fighters.

"Man!" Yells out Elfman in anger. He jumps to attack Gajeel while still yelling, "Maybe I'm trash, but I'm a Man!" His right arm changes into a shape of some sort of giant stone arm as the large white-haired man uses his takeover magic, a magic that lets his body take over the bodies of other creatures he has defeated. Gajeel's left arm turns into a metal pole and blocks Elfman's punch.

"Elfman, huh?" asks Gajeel with a wide grin on his face. He then starts kicking and punching at the larger male while using his limbs to turn into those metal poles. Elfman dodges the attacks and even stops one completely which interests Gajeel. "Not bad." praises the Iron Dragon Slayer as his leg in pole form is being held in the Fairy Tail mage's fist.

"A Man must be strong." states Elfman simply.

"Then how about this?" throws out Gajeel before thinner metal poles extend out of Gajeel's leg which is still in the pole form. Many nearby Phantom mages gets hit by the attack while the take-over mage dodges despite the close range.

"Damn him, even his own friends?" Elfman blurts out in disbelief as he looks on at the rampart destruction caused by the dragon slayer.

With a fist cocked, Gajeel calls attention back to him with an arrogant, "Where do you think you're lookin'?" Then he punches the air toward Elfman while his fist changes into another pole and extends, hitting the white-haired mage in the cheek. The blow sends him flying through the air and before Elfman can land, Natsu jumps on his friend's stomach. With a kick, the Fire Dragon Slayer pushes Elfman even further back while propelling himself towards the larger figure of the Iron Dragon Slayer.

"Gajeel!" Natsu roars out while flying towards his opponent. With a fist of fire, he knocks back the long, spiky, raven-haired mage into the bar that runs along a wall. The other Phantom mages look on in shock and fear, never before have they seen someone strong enough to knock Gajeel back like that. With a large ecstatic grin, the red-eyed man picks himself up out of the damaged bar with no apparent trouble. With both fists on fire, Natsu decides to introduce himself.

"I'm Fairy Tail's Dragon Slayer." Natsu growls out with the pissed off look still in his eyes. Gajeel just gives a satisfied grunt in response. "Elfman, give this guy to me." the fire mage demands.

"Why, you… Not only do you use me as a floor mat, you plan on interfering in our Man-on-Man battle?" Elfman shouts out angrily because of the interruption.

Not giving them time to talk, Gajeel shouts out his attack move while running forward, "Pillar of the Iron Dragon!" His fist shoots forward into the pillar while the grin stays on the fight-loving mage's face. It hits Natsu square in the chest and pushes him backwards a bit as he clings onto the pole.

"Natsu!" Erza cries out, worried about her friend's safety while fighting a notably strong mage. As Natsu stands still while clinging onto the metal pillar, heat waves can be seen rising from around him. His head down, no one can see his face as he starts to speak in a calmer voice.

"This guy busted up the guild and hurt Levy and the others…" Natsu then looks up into Gajeel's red eyes while glaring at him. The Fire Dragon Slayer's arms light up as Natsu shouts, "Eat this!" Using his strength, he tosses Gajeel high into the air. Most of the fighting has stopped for now as everyone watches the fight between the two dragon slayers.

Each side rooting for their own, hoping that they will beat the enemy. Gajeel is thrown high enough to reach the rather thick support beams that lie high above the main guildhall, and uses one as a kick off point to fly back down towards Natsu. Gajeel goes in for a normal punch which is blocked by Natsu's forearm. With the other fist cloaked in flames, the pink-haired wizard goes for a roundhouse punch to Gajeel's face.

Getting knocked backwards again, Gajeel flips through the air like a rag-doll as he bounces into a stone wall. The older members of Fairy Tail are getting excited by Natsu's apparent advantage over the other dragon slayer.

"Natsu!" Elfman bellows out. "I'll let you have that manly battle! But in return…" he gets interrupted by a confident Natsu.

"Right! I'll knock him good!" he says while having one fist pumped into the air and grabbing onto that arm's bicep with the other hand. Gajeel's fist pokes out of the pile of rubble that he is encased in before he stands up, looking slightly worse for wear. His clothes are getting tattered by the assault. He hunches into a battle ready position as he calls out to Natsu.

"That didn't affect me." he calls out in a cocky manner. Natsu's pissed off look fades and an excited grin shows up as he gets revved up to fight a strong opponent.

"Doesn't look like that to me." Natsu replies just as cocky.

"You sure?" asks Gajeel as he dashes forward to fight. He speeds up faster than before which catches Natsu off-guard and is sent flying into the air from a pillar kick. Natsu gets thrown into a group of Phantom mages and knocks them over like bowling pins. Gajeel walks slowly over to where Natsu landed, his eyes glinting evilly in the low light.

"Come on, bring it. You're not affected either, right?" he says in a slightly challenging tone. Flames explode from the pile of debris that Natsu is in, pieces go flying everywhere as Natsu nonchalantly stands in the middle of the inferno. The light of the fire makes his eyes look like they are glowing red as he laughs lightly.

"You know me pretty good there…" Natsu says in harsh excitement as the battle fever takes over. His flames die down quickly as he speaks and his face has an almost crazed look to it.

"Giheh" Gajeel laughs before he speaks. "You're one hot and uncomfortable guy, you know that?" His lust for battle rising, Gajeel activates the magic in his right arm.

"Shut up, you hard-ass." Natsu bites back as he too activates his magic in his right arm. The adrenaline is pumping between the two as they prepare to take things more seriously. Gajeel makes the first move.

"I'll crush you!" he shouts out as he throws the first punch as a pillar to Natsu's face while he dashes to the side. Natsu blocks it with a flaming fist before it hits. Holding the pole in a tight grip, Natsu turns up the heat in his flames.

"Don't get ahead of yourself, you scrap-iron bastard!" he shouts harshly as his grip tightens. The heat causes the iron to weaken and the pillar starts getting crushed in Natsu grip.

Gajeel looks at this unconcerned as he says calmly, "Oh? Just as the rumors say… That's some decent power you got there. Ouchy, ouchy…" He retracts the pillar quickly and his hand smokes from the fire. Gajeel locks eyes with Natsu as he continues, "So? Is that all you got, Salamander?" Natsu holds up a flaming fist as the pissed off look returns.

"Don't worry 'bout that. This was just a greeting. Before our Dragon's fight" he retorts in a much lower voice than before. They stare at each other, waiting for someone to make the first move. Narrowing their eyes, they crouch down and use their magic power to launch themselves in the air at each other. Natsu roars and Gajeel laughs crazily before they impact. They start attacking and Gajeel gets a lucky kick on Natsu which pushes him back some.

"Heavy…" he grunts out in some pain, more surprised at the weight the attack had behind it. Gajeel presses the attack, leaping high into the air and coming down with a foot extended for a stomp. Natsu's fist lights anew and takes a swing at Gajeel after stopping the stomp with his forearm. Gajeel leans back to dodge the flaming punch and kicks off of Natsu's arm to jump out of range. Hitting a special switch in the heel of his boot, two blades extends out of Gajeel's calf-high boots and he uses them to anchor himself to one of the building's support beams.

Natsu quickly follows with a magic powered high leap of his own and goes for another fiery punch to Gajeel's head. The Iron Dragon Slayer barely gets his arm up in pillar form to block the attack. The power behind it causes him to get knocked through several support beams, each one as thick as the Iron Dragon Slayer. Natsu lands on a different support beam in a crouch as he watches Gajeel's path.

"Now, I'm all fired up!" Natsu harshly calls out. Gajeel by this time recovers from the attack and lands on another support beam, again upside down and in a crouch. The grin has yet to leave his face, too caught up in enjoying the fight.

"Got a bit of a destructive streak in you, huh?" Gajeel observes. Large pieces of timber fall to the floor below, unmindful of the mages underneath. Both sides are at a standoff, almost as if they are waiting for the battle between dragon slayers to decide which side wins. Soon the entire guild starts to shake as if in an earthquake.

The Phantom mages become uneasy, not knowing what is going on. The members of Fairy Tail only smile at the uneasiness of their enemies. They know that the shaking means one thing. Master Makarov's anger is being released, the Giant's Wrath. Fairy Tail takes heart, knowing that they cannot lose with their Master fighting alongside them.

Up above at the top of the guild, the Master is walking lightly upon the ground while it craters from the sheer force of his magic being released. A soft yellow light envelops the old man as he makes his way towards Master Jose Porla, the leader of Phantom Lord. So immense is the power, that the tower starts to break apart and electricity crackles around the Master.

Reaching a set of doors that would dwarf anyone, one blast of magic power from the Master and almost the entire wall explodes in a shower of rocks and dust. As the dust settles, the short stature of the Master is seen walking through the room. The only indication of his movement is the cracks in the floor growing wider and wider as they spread through the room.

Master Jose sits upon a throne-like chair with an entirely too smug for his own good look on his face, completely unruffled by the Master of Fairy Tail's entrance. Master Makarov stops in the middle of the room, by which now is almost completely destroyed and glares hatefully at the other guild master.

"Jose!" the Master cries out in unadulterated fury. Unmoving, the smarmy red-headed leader of the guild sits upon his throne with his legs and arms crossed.

"Well, well…" is all Jose has to say.

"What is the meaning of this? Answer me!" the Master demands, ready to battle at a drop of a hat and his power still pouring off of him like a raging waterfall.

"It has been a while, Makarov-san. Not since the regular guild meeting six years ago? I'm afraid I made a fool of myself then. Liquor really does me in." Jose says perfectly calm like nothing is wrong. His position doesn't change and he doesn't even lift his head from where the large purple wizard's hat is covering his eyes. The Master hunches over in anger, getting into a battle ready position.

His arm grows in size as he rears back and sends a punch with an extending arm not unlike how Gajeel's pillars work. His fist grows to be larger than Jose and the chair combined as he makes contact with the target of his ungodly fury. The magic Master Makarov has been exuding recedes as he focuses now on fighting and not intimidation.

"I did not come here to chat, Jose!" the Master grounds out from almost gritted teeth. The dust in the air from that attack settles to show Jose in the same spot, unmoving like the attack never occurred. The image of Jose flickers, not unlike how a television screen would when the signal starts getting interrupted.

The hologram-like image starts to laugh lightly as the Master bellows out in frustration, "You're just a thought-projection?" the old man's arm retracts back to its normal size as he looks on, more than irritated that he can't exact his revenge just yet.

"Damn you! You ran from the guild?" Master Makarov growls out the question, demanding an answer.

"A battle between two of the 10 Great Wizard Saints would surely cause a cataclysm." says Jose with the same smug looking expression on his face. He looks up and fixes the Fairy Tail Master with a piercing look. "I would prefer a simple, sensible victory."

The unbridled hatred is heard clearly in the Master's voice as he asks, "Where are you? Come fight me fair and square!" In response, a figure laying on the ground appears into view at the feet of Jose. As it becomes clear enough to be recognizable, Master Makarov stares at it in shock. There before him was an image of Lucy, one of his newest children, there on the ground unconscious and tied up.

"Lucy? Why?" he chokes out the questions, overcome with feelings of concern over the young girl and fearful for her life.

"Why, you ask?" Jose says, as if it is the simplest answer in the world. "Even though she is part of your guild? You're saying you have no idea who Lucy Heartfilia-sama is?" Phantom Lord's Master asks in disbelief. Without waiting for an answer, Jose lifts up his right arm and starts to activate his magic, the target being the unconscious Lucy. Knowing that she is just a thought projection and that he can't do anything to protect her, the Master still extends a hand as he moves forward in a desperate attempt to save another one of his beloved children from harm.

"Don't!" The Master cries out in fear. Without Makarov noticing, a large figure in green appears behind the short man, his hands already in place to cast a spell on the Master of Fairy Tail. Noticing the large man's presence way too late, he turns to face the newcomer as a spell is cast against him. Large, unnatural tears spill from underneath the bandages covering the figure's eyes like twin rivers.

"The, the, the sadness!" the figure in green cries out in despair as he activates his magic. The Master raises his arm to try to block whatever is being thrown at him and to protect his eyes from the bright glare of the other mage's magic. Quickly overwhelmed, the Master is blown away by the spell. His magic which was nearly limitless is reduced to nothing in less than a second. The shock of the drain causes him to fall down through a hole in the floor caused by his magic earlier while his skin turns a sickly green from the spell's effects.

He falls down many stories until he lands with a large crash into the ground floor of the guildhall. A fall like that would of killed any normal person at even one-quarter of the height. But we are not talking about a normal human here, this is the Master of Fairy Tail and one of the 10 Great Wizard Saints, who are comprised of the top ten most powerful mages in the entire world.

He survives the fall, but barely. The crash attracts the attention of the fighting mages. The members of Fairy Tail look on, horrified, to see their once proud and powerful Master, laying on the ground almost dead. They stand frozen, not believing what they are seeing.

"Gramps!" Natsu and Gray cry out in fear, while Erza shout out, "Master!" at the same time. As if their words hit a switch, the members of Fairy Tail go to surround and protect their beloved leader. Erza runs over as fast as she can and gently picks up the Master in her arms. Shock, disbelief, worry, confusion, and fear dances across her face and eyes.

"M-My magical power… My magical power!" is all the Master can force himself to say, too weak to have it go above a whisper. Erza hugs him tighter to her when she hears this. Cana is kneeling by his head with Natsu, Gray, and Happy standing a bit further away but no less worried than the rest of their guild.

"Master, hang in there!" the red head cries out.

"What happened?" Cana asks the Master anxiously.

"What is this?" asks Gray, completely distrusting his senses. "I can't sense any magical power at all from him!" Elfman approaches and heard what Gray said.

He asks, "You mean he's now nothing but a little old man?" incredulous to the whole idea of it being true.

"But why?" Happy starts to cry, becoming overwhelmed by the sight.

"Gramps, get it together!" Natsu shouts out in fear. The old man doesn't respond. He doesn't even blink. If it wasn't for his chest moving, you would think he is dead. The other members of Fairy Tail whisper amongst themselves, trying to wrap their minds around this new situation. As the Fairy Tail mages grow somber and disheartened by the tragedy, the Phantom Lord wizards are getting a morale boost as they too figure out what is going on.

With the Fairy Tail Master out of the way, they feel they now have a chance to win. With a congregated roar, the Phantom Lord mages renew their attacks on the now weaken Fairy Tail forces. Erza quickly figures out the situation and it looks bad. Her friends took a huge blow to their morale and their worry over the Master has cut their fighting power down significantly. With the renewed vigor of their enemies, the Fairy Tail wizards are getting beaten back.

That's without the help of Gajeel or the Element 4, and if Jose himself decides to come and fight… Erza knew what needed to be done, as much as she hated to admit it but there was only one option left for them if they had any hopes of making it out with everyone alive.

With a deep breath, she bellows out the command, "Retreat! Everyone return to the guild!" It tore at her heart having to say that, and it went against everything they believed at Fairy Tail. But if the Master had any chance of survival they had to leave. Now. Shocked, her friends look back at Erza, unsure if they heard her correctly.

Did Erza Scarlet, otherwise known as Titania, Queen of the Fairies, The Strongest Female in Fairy Tail, the mage who doesn't know how to hold back, actually tell them to run away? They protest against leaving the battle, still wanting to fight despite how badly they are now getting beaten, but she stands firm.

"No! Without the Master, we cannot defeat Jose! Retreat! That's an order!" She shouts out, hiding her pain at having to leave before avenging her fallen comrades. Begrudgingly, they group up and start leaving, much to the delight of the Phantom mages. They rush the beaten Fairies, pushing the invaders out of their guild. They throw out taunts and insults, overjoyed in their victory.

As the members of Fairy Tail gather to leave with heavy hearts over their defeat and the critical condition of their master, they knew that even though the battle was lost the war was far from being over. Not wanting to give up the fight, Natsu ignore Erza's order in favor of beating the tar out of more Phantom Lord mages. His attention is pulled away from fighting when his sensitive hearing picks up on a name that Gajeel utters.

Lucy.

Instantly concerned for his friend, he turns to look up at the Iron Dragon Slayer and a large figure in green to focus on their conversation.

"It is a sad story. The girl named Lucy is being held in our headquarters." the large figure informs Gajeel calmly. From his sitting position Gajeel looks up at the figure standing next to him.

"So we gave her a 'warm welcome', then?" he asks with a smirk.

"What?" Natsu whispers to himself as he stands frozen in shock. Happy, who didn't want to leave his best friend behind, stands behind Natsu and watches his strange actions.

"What's the matter, Natsu?" the blue cat asks in concern. Anger flares up in Natsu along with fear for the safety of his friend.

"Gajeel!" Natsu shouts upwards toward the other dragon slayer, the fear evident in his voice.

A smug smirk on his face as he stands up, Gajeel only says, "We'll finish this one day, Salamander!" The large figure next to him extends an arm over Gajeel and they both become translucent like a soap bubble before fading from view.

"They caught Lucy…" Natsu trails off, unsure whether or not to believe his ears. Erza also has stayed back, making sure not a single member of her family is left behind as she continues to order the retreat. Gray is of like mind with Natsu and only wants to fight to avenge his friends, no matter the odds. Erza stops his attack and in an uncharacteristic move, leans against Gray's chest as she begs him to leave the guild with the rest of their friends.

With immense regret, he runs to follow the rest of the guild in their retreat. Erza turns to go as well, certain that Natsu will follow after he pummels a few more mages. As Phantom Lord wizards chase away their enemies, one of the grunts gets caught in the vice-like grip of Natsu.

"Ah! It's Salamander…. And a cat!" the nameless grunts shouts out as the fire mage gives him an unholy glare.

"Hey you…" Natsu starts out, glaring so hard at the unfortunate mage that veins are popping out. Flames coat Natsu's body as he menacingly growls out between clenched teeth, "You and me are gonna talk!" Seeing this, the target of the of glare suddenly wishes for a fresh change of pants. Natsu starts dragging the mage out the guild and through town in complete silence. This greatly unnerves the man being dragged, but he dares not utter a word for fear of his life.

Some of the braver townsfolk peep through curtains or cracks in the door, but none would help the poor man after seeing murderous rage flashing in the pink-haired man's eyes. Happy flies alongside Natsu, worried about what is going on with his best friend. He almost never sees Natsu get like this and he wonders what could of caused such a strong reaction in the normally happy male. As they travel up a stone hill that overlooks the town, the cat finally decides to break the silence.

"Natsu, what are you going to do?" Happy asks curiously.

"I'm going to save Lucy, obviously." he says, biting back an impatient tone. Without turning to look at the mage that he is dragging behind he directs his next words. "Tell me. Where is Lucy?" He ignore the man's attempts to keep from being choked as he is being dragged up the hill.

"H-H-How would I know? Who is that?" the man stutters out, starting to get mad at his mistreatment despite his fear. Before he finishes speaking, his entire body is coated with burning flames. Howling in pain, the man renews his struggles to try to escape the grasp of the irate Fire Dragon Slayer. "It's hot! It's hot! I'm burning!" he screams out.

"Say it." Natsu replies, his voice uncaring of the man's suffering.

"I don't know nothing', seriously! It's hot!" he cries out in fear and pain.

"If any more of my friends are hurt…" Natsu says his voice unchanging. He glances back at his captive, the glare on his face intensifying in mounting fury. "You'll be nothing but a pile of ashes…" he leaves the threat as it is and increases the temperature of his flames to prove his threat isn't idle. The man screams in terror, certain that he is about to die in a most agonizing way. He starts talking rapidly, hoping that he can say something to stall his upcoming death.

"I never heard of the wench! I mean, I don't know about the young lady!" he blurts out, hoping that his lack of knowledge about the woman will be enough to save him.

"Oh, that so? Too bad. Time to make charcoal, I guess." Natsu says almost cheerfully, which terrifies the man even more.

"Aye!" agrees Happy almost as cheerfully as Natsu. The captive man is reduced to tears as he sees his life start flashing before his eyes with death imminent. In a last ditch effort, he tries to divert the stronger mage's attention to another target.

"But our headquarters is up ahead. She may be there…" he blurts out, almost resigned to the fact that he is going to die.

"Say that in the first place, sheesh." Natsu scoffs lightheartedly, almost as if his anger has disappeared. The man sighs in relief as the flames disappear from his body, crying in joy that he gets to live. Without warning, the flames renew to an inferno and the man screams in pain. Natsu and Happy continue working their way up to the headquarters where they hope to find Lucy, ignoring the smoking husk of the still breathing man.

* * *

During this time that Natsu was on his way to rescue Lucy, the kidnapped blonde slowly wakes up. Her body feels cold, sore, and very uncomfortable. Opening her eyes, she is greeted by unfamiliar stone walls. Shocked, she bolts upright to a sitting position and notices how her hands are tied up behind her back. As she questions herself as to where she is at, Jose appears in front of the steel door of her prison. Only part of his face is seen through the small window covered in metal bars.

"So you're awake, Lucy Heartfilia-sama." he says smugly and she twists to look at him, still feeling shock and confusion.

"Who are you?" she demands in a strong yet slightly fearful tone. Jose opens the door and stands inside the prison cell, blocking the doorway.

"I am the guild master of Phantom Lord, Jose." He introduces himself in a gentlemanly fashion.

Lucy lets out a surprised gasp as she says, "Phantom?" Her confusion eases as she remembers that she was captured by the Element 4. Her eyes then widen in realization when she remembers that she wasn't alone. "What did you do to Krysti?! Where is she?!" she yells out in anger.

"Oh? You mean that pathetic fairy that was with you as you were captured? She was dealt with in proper fashion." Jose waves away the question in a tone of dismissal.

"Dealt with? What did you do!?" Lucy screams. Ignoring her questions, he walks towards the blonde girl on the floor.

"I know that this filthy cell and shackles are quite rude of me, but you are currently a prisoner, so I hope you understand the circumstances." he says still acting like a polite gentleman despite his smug appearance.

Lucy angrily bites back, "Remove these at once! Prisoner? How dare you do that to Levy-chan's team and tell me what did you do with my friend!" She violently swings herself around to face him better as she gives him a hateful glare.

He decides to humor her by answering, "Nothing more than she deserved. Just left her on the streets like the piece of weak, pathetic trash that she is." his smug smirk widens in sadistic pleasure. Lucy feels her blood run cold at that remark and her glare deepens.

"You're horrible!" she hisses out, her anger clearly evident. He turns partly away from her, knowing what she can't do anything in her situation, and raises a hand to his face to rub at his chin.

Eyes closed, he continues from before, "For someone of your status, I have prepared accommodations for a welcomed guest instead of a prisoner."

"What's that suppose to mean?" she says through gritted teeth before letting out a high-pitched shriek. A centipede crawled up her leg, and the bug gave her a mini heart-attack from the suddenness of its movements.

"Ew, ew, ew!" she screeches out as she tries to shake it off.

Jose looks back at her with the same smile that doesn't leave his face as he replies, "See? You don't want to stay in this cell, yes? If you cooperate, I'll transfer you to the suite." he look down at her haughtily, as in his eyes she seems to be cowering from his sheer strength and power.

"Why did you attack us?" she asks instead of answering Jose.

"Us?" he repeats, sounding a bit confused. He gives a slight laugh as he realizes, "Oh, are you referring to Fairy Tail?" He leans his head back to look down his nose at her with a creepy smile forming on his face. "Just in passing… a side effect." Lucy lets out a surprised noise at this.

Jose extends his hands to the side at hip level as he clarifies, "Our true objective was to obtain a certain someone. And that someone just happened to be in Fairy Tail, so we crushed it on our way… That's all." He says this like it is something normal, an everyday activity for him.

"Someone?" Lucy questions, not daring to see the truth in front of her.

"Oh, my…" Jose says sounding disgruntled at how she isn't connecting the dots. "You're much denser than I figured the daughter of the Heartfilia family would be. I mean you, of course." he states. Lucy freezes at the revelation, almost in too much shock to hear Jose's next words.

"The Daughter of the Heartfilia Konzern, Mistress Lucy." His voice deepens as he calls her by her proper title. Snapping back to reality, she glares at Jose just as much as before.

"How did you know?" she demands quietly.

"It seems you hid this fact from the people in the guild. Why would the daughter of one of the wealthiest families in the country take on such cheap, dangerous jobs?" Jose questions, unsure why she would leave all the money and power that goes with it behind.

Ignoring his question, Lucy asks one of her own, "Is this a kidnapping?"

"Oh, no… Nothing of the sort. We were requested to bring you back with us. By none other than your father himself." he informs her casually. Lucy sits up straight as she feels like all the air has been sucked out of her lungs. Confusion runs rampant through her mind as she tries to understand her father's motives.

"No… No way! Why would he?" she whimpers out.

Jose lifts an eyebrow over her reaction to the news as he says, "I'm sure it's because he wanted to search for his beloved daughter who ran away from home. Quite normal." Lucy's eyes are clenched tight and she grits her teeth at the, to her, completely wrong observation.

"No way… He's not the kind of person that'd care about that!" she denies in a troubled voice. She looks up at Jose with a determined look, "I'm never going back, you hear me? I'm never going back to that house!" she shouts that last sentence. Jose rocks back on his heels as he looks at her in slight amusement.

"Oh, my… What a troublesome little lady we have ourselves." he says out loud to himself.

With more confidence than she felt, Lucy demands, "Release me this instant!" to which Jose denies. She squirms a bit before looking down in embarrassment. "I kinda need to go to the bathroom." she says softly while blushing at having to make the request. Unmoved, Jose just stands there with his arms crossed.

"Oh, what's this? That's the oldest trick in the book." he says clearly unimpressed with what he thinks is an attempt to escape. She squirms even more as her blush deepens.

"No… Seriously… Please, help." Lucy complains, starting to sound desperate. A bucket appears out of nowhere, almost as if by _magic._

"Fine then." he says, complying with her request and setting the bucket down near her. She looks shocked at the sight. "Go ahead." he says with that unconcerned tone, certain that she is just bluffing.

"No way!" she yells out, mortified that he told her to do that activity in front of him. He laughs at her discomfort.

"There are plenty of way to deal with that old trick." he states proudly. With a sigh of resignation, she stands up in front of the bucket, facing Jose. She arches her back so her bound hands can reach up under her skirt.

"A bucket, huh?" she says, accepting that her situation can't change. Jose's eyes almost pop out of his skull seeing that she in fact, DID need to use the bathroom.

He yells at her, slightly horrified about what is going to happen, "Wait, seriously!?" His face goes through several strained and unreadable expressions as she wiggles around. "I've never seen such an improper lady! And I am a gentleman!" he says to himself, aghast at her actions before quickly turning to face away from Lucy. Seeing him turn around, she smirks in victory.

Stepping up closer to him quietly, she sends the most powerful kick she has, that she named Lucy Kick, right in his groin. The blossoming pain he feels quickly has him face plant right into the floor as he screams a high-pitched screech of agony. His butt is high in the air as he uses both hands to hold onto the vital organ to protect it from further harm.

Lucy sends his prostate form a smug smile as she proclaims, "It's best not to underestimate the old tricks!" Walking past him, she stops to give his twitching body a playful wink while saying, "Then, take care." She hurries to exit the room, only to find that her prison is on top of a tower. She stops for fear of falling, the outside breeze ruffling her hair and clothes. Jose slowly forces himself to stand up while enduring the pain of 1000 blazing suns that his crotch feels like it is in.

"Too bad for you… This is a sky cell!" he forces out, his voice a few octaves higher than it was a minute ago. He pushes himself to walk, determined to pay the blonde back for this insult upon his person. She stands there, unmoving, while listening to the wind. Still holding his crotch, he stops a few feet behind her as he gives her slight praise.

"You did me a good one there…" he grounds out, fighting the agony his body is in. Lucy turns to face Jose when she hears how close he is behind her. She looks down and behind her as if her attention is caught by something. She looks back at her captor and a pained expression crosses her face.

"Now, come to me! I'm going to punish you. I must show you how scary Phantom can be!" Jose proclaims harshly. Without saying a word, Lucy closes her eyes and leans backwards until she can feel herself falling. The absolute shock over Lucy's actions weakens Jose's will and he collapses under the pain he is enduring.

He was unable until that moment to understand how strongly she didn't want to go back to her father. As the young blonde is falling she clenches her eyes shut, praying that she did hear what she thinks she heard. Taking a large breath, she puts everything she has to scream out one single word.

"NATSU!"

She hears an answering yell, "Lucy!" the relief at hearing his voice brings tears to her eyes. Hearing him scream her name, she knows that she is safe. Her trust in her friend is that strong. She relaxes and waits as the wind whistles by during her descent. A loud, wordless yell followed by two strong arms wrapping around her back tells her that Natsu is there and now she is safe.

The two mages fly through the air from the force of Natsu's jump and they crash into a half-built wall many yards away from the Phantom Lord headquarters. Natsu twists them around so that he takes the brunt of the blow so Lucy won't be hurt as they land with her on top of him.

"Lucys are falling from the sky!" Happy cries out in a joyful shout. Dust has risen up from the impact and Happy waits for it to settle before flying closer. Still within the dust cloud, Natsu and Lucy stay in the position that they landed in as they recover from the fall. Natsu is on his back with Lucy partly on top of him.

Her breasts smashed up against his face muffles his voice as he says, "You're nuts, you know that?" He has an annoyed look on his face as he says that. Lucy looks at him with a soft look in her eyes. She feels grateful to have such a caring friend.

"Natsu… I thought you were here…" she says, the relief evident in her voice. He scoffs.

"Where else would I be?" he says grumpily. By now the blonde noticed what position she was in with the scarf wearing man. Blushing, she quickly gets off of him and looks shyly down at the ground. The dust clears out enough that Happy can see his friends and without a second thought, he flies over to them. Natsu sits upright and uses one of his hands to rub the back of his head from when he hit the brick wall.

A cry of, "Lucy!" interrupts whatever the blonde was going to say as a blue blur crashes into her chest. She gets that soft look in her eyes again as she watches the little cat hug her.

She lays her head gently on top of Happy's as she says, "There, there now. Everything is ok." Natsu watches his two friends with a large smile on his face. When the cat felt better, he floated away from the blonde while leaving her shirt somewhat damp. She didn't mind it though, it showed that despite all the insults that Happy does care.

"Hey Natsu, could you help me with this?" she asks while turning her back to show the rope around her wrists. The dragon slayer nods and moves behind her to take off the restraints. Her wrists free, she bring them up to her chest as she rubs them

"Are you okay?" Natsu asks with a bit of concern. Lucy winces slightly at the pain in her wrists as she nods.

"Yeah… Somehow…" she trails off, troubled by the information about why all the attacks are happening.

"Thank goodness. Let's go back to the guild." demands Happy as he stands besides the blonde girl. Natsu stands up as Happy is saying this, and he turns to his blue-furred friend in frustration.

"What? This is their headquarters… We should-" he exclaims while gesturing wildly before Happy cuts him off.

"But Erza said to retreat!" Happy reminds the overly excited mage. Natsu leans down to stare at Happy right in his face.

"She's scared! I ain't afraid of them at all!" the dragon slayer proclaims, his expression turning angry.

"The Master's been severely wounded!" the cat shouts back, becoming equally angry.

"I'll pay them back for that too!" Natsu states while standing back up with his arms crossed. Lucy looks on sadly before bolting upright and her eyes widening.

"We have to hurry back! Krysti's in trouble!" she shouts out effectively ending the argument. Both Natsu and Happy look at Lucy in shock as she stands up to face them. Worry is etched on her face as she tries not to think about what trouble has befallen her newest friend.

"What?!" Happy and Natsu both shout out in unison. Natsu steps forward and grabs Lucy by both of her shoulders, his face deadly serious.

"Where is she, Lucy?" Natsu says, his grip unconsciously tightening.

"I'm not sure. I think she is still where I was captured…" she gets cut off as Natsu grabs her wrist and starts pulling her back towards their hometown of Magnolia. They sprint as fast as they can, hoping to find their friend safe and sound. Lucy tires partway back and Happy picks her up to help keep up with Natsu. They are silent during their journey, focused solely on reaching their friend.

When they finally make it to town, Lucy directs them towards where she last remembered seeing the brunette. About one street away from their destination, Natsu stops to sniff the air. Happy and a recovered Lucy, go back and watch in concern as they see Natsu's face pale.

Without waiting for them to say anything, he takes off down the street even faster than before. Happy and Lucy exchange anxious glances at Natsu's odd behavior before quickly following after him. They quickly catch up to Natsu as he is standing completely still while looking down the small street, shock and horror written on his face. The other two members of Fairy Tail look and let out a shriek of horror at the sight.

Krysti is laying face down on the ground with her head facing away from them. But what caused the reactions from the three new arrivals is the large puddle of blood surrounding the brunette. Lucy sinks to her knees with both of her hands covering her mouth, barely able to suppress her sorrowful wails.

Happy stands next to Lucy, trembling at the vision of their friend. This was worse than the sight of Team Shadowgear hanging from the tree in the park. Even worse than seeing the Master reduced to nothing but an old man close to death. With them you were able to tell that they were alive. Krysti on the other hand... Natsu slowly walks over to the prone form, his head hanging down so his bangs are covering his face. Standing beside the body, he kneels down uncaring about the blood staining his pants.

Reaching out a hand hesitantly, he pauses before placing it gently on her shoulder. The cold flesh causes his heart to clench. Steeling himself for the worst, he gently shakes the woman as he prays for her to be ok. A small groan that can only be heard by him reaches his ears. He brightens up instantly and rolls Krysti over to try to wake her. He recoils when he sees how badly beaten up she looks.

Her nose is a bloody mess as it had been broken again, the most likely source of the blood. Bruises cover almost every part of her exposed skin and he didn't dare look elsewhere. Her clothes are completely drenched in her blood, even worse than the first time her nose was broken. Her body was cold, just as cold as the night they spent in Harujion and her normally rosy cheeks were deathly pale. He clenches a fist that is shaking in pure rage. Another one of his precious family members has been hurt and he wasn't there to protect them.

If it wasn't for the fact that she needed him to take her somewhere to heal, he would of gone back towards Phantom Lord and damn the consequences. He reaches his arms under Krysti and in a smooth motion, lifts her up to carry her bridal style. He shivers slightly at how cold she feels in his arms and increases his body heat to help warm her. He takes off at a fast pace back the way he came. He passes Lucy and Happy who still haven't recovered from their grief.

He stops slightly behind them and whispers, "She's alive." before taking off down the street and ignoring the shouts and stares of passerby's. Lucy lets out a huge gasp of relief and shakily gets to her feet. She was so sure that the worst has happened. All that blood. Even she can smell it from where she is at the end of the street. She closes her eyes and can't help but see the beaten up bodies of her friends, her family.

She pushes the images away and takes off after Natsu in a stumbling run before steadying herself. Happy follows after the blonde, torn between who he should be near.

Natsu's mind is numb and the only thing he can think of is to take her to the guild, to safety. Just like the last time when the brunette was injured, only this time it is much more serious. His breath is turning ragged from the almost non-stop sprinting all the way from Oak Town.

Entering the guild, he barely looks at the damage as he weaves around the obstacles to head downstairs where a huge commotion can be heard. Natsu tightens his grip on the older woman as he slowly makes his way down the stairs, careful to not to aggravate her wounds. Loud noises of people complaining and groaning from their various injuries are the loudest. While other less injured members scramble to gather magical items or are planning their next attack against Phantom.

A hush falls over the guild at the sight of a blood covered Natsu carrying in a bloody and badly beaten up brunette girl. His head is lowered and no one can make out his expression as he gently lays her on the nearest table. He tightly takes hold of Krysti's hand as he sits down beside her body, his head still bowed. Large gasps are heard as some of the members quickly realize that the person beaten up is their newest member.

"Natsu! What happened!?" cries out Mirajane as she rushes over to the couple with Erza and Gray close behind. Tears well up in her eyes as she gets a closer look at the injuries. Everyone holds their breath as they await for an answer from the dragon slayer. He lifts his head and the look of fury on his face causes most of the guild to recoil from its intensity.

"It was the Elemental 4. Phantom." he positively snarls as he says the name. A burst of heat explodes from the dragon slayer. "They. Will. Pay." he slowly grounds out as the heat takes on the form of flames around his body. At the same time, an intense cold contrasts with the heat as Gray glares in the direction of the Phantom guild hall. His fists are clenched tightly to his sides as a white mist forms around his body. Angry and awed chatter instantly buzzes around the room at Natsu's words.

Its normal to see Natsu getting worked up, but its rare for Gray to start leaking magic like that when not in a fight with the dragon slayer. A dark aura hushes the guild just as quickly as it started when Erza spins to face the pink-haired man. The red-head steps up and looks down to meet Natsu's eyes with her unflinching ones, ignoring the stabbing cold and prickling heat of the two mages in front of her.

"Tell us everything." she commands in a low voice, the hard glare in her eyes matching the murder in the fire mage's. Normally such a look would have him cowering in terror, but the anger in his heart and the knowledge that it wasn't meant for him allows him to face her stare head on. Natsu nods and retells all that he knows, his expression hardening if that was possible. At the mention of Lucy being kidnapped, the others start to move to go rescue her when the blonde herself came down the stairs surprising everyone.

She is almost tackled by Mira as she and a lot of other members of the guild bombard her with questions. Natsu still has yet to let go of the brunette's hand and Gray stands beside Krysti, hovering protectively over her. They are like silent sentinels as they watch the proceedings with dark thoughts clouding their minds. Happy flies over towards Natsu and lands on the table beside Krysti.

His large eyes well up in tears as he silently cries. The rivaling forces of magic between the two boys has barely calmed during Natsu's telling of events. Getting everyone to settle down some, Lucy is able to tell her side of the story to the guild. She left nothing out. Everyone is in shock to learn that their friend really is a rich heiress.

Most of them were able to get over their shock fairly quickly, while others needed more time to process their thoughts. Mira gives Lucy a brief, but warm hug before hurrying off to gather medical supplies to treat the badly injured brunette. Looking down, Lucy uses her bangs to hide her face, but the unmistakable sound of a sob is heard to the people nearby. The men look over in horror, their worst fear happening right in front of them.

A girl is crying.

They panic, unsure of what to do as Lucy stands there, crying her eyes out. The sound breaks Natsu and Gray out of their murderous thoughts and slowly their magic abates. Another friend of theirs needs help, even if they don't know exactly how to provide it.

"I'm sorry! I'm so sorry!" Lucy wails out before covering her face with her hands again. Between sobs, she continues, "This is all… This is all my fault! But, I still want to be in the guild…" Lucy increases her volume as she looks up to stare everyone in the eyes, "I love Fairy Tail!" Lucy starts to break down into uncontrollable sobs. The guild looks on at her with awe before the less injured women move in to comfort the poor over-stressed blonde.

They take her to a more secluded corner to let her express her emotions more privately. When the majority of her grief has been let out, Lucy moves over to rejoin her team as they watch over Krysti as she is being treated. Someone suggests taking her to the hospital to which Mira shoots down vehemently. With how increasingly hostile Phantom is becoming, Mira doesn't want the injured brunette to be moved to the hospital.

Despite the fact that she would receive better treatment for her injuries, it would be hazardous to try moving her with Phantom Lord out there ready and willing to brutalize anyone associated with Fairy Tail. It's just too risky unless the whole guild goes as one, and if they do they will have to stay at the hospital to keep guard. There is a chance that Phantom doesn't know that Jet, Droy, and Levy are in the hospital and that is the best protection that can be given to them.

But if Krysti is moved, then it would alert Phantom that there is at least one injured member within the hospital and would cause the previous injured three to be in even more danger. Its a risky gamble, but Mirajane is willing to take the chance. Watching the brunette receive treatment, Lucy starts feeling extremely guilty again at the pain she has caused her friends. She lowers her head with a depressed look about her and feels the prickle of tears getting ready to form. Noticing something is wrong, Gray turns to look at Lucy.

"What's the matter? Still uneasy?" the ice mage asks softly. Lucy's head lowers until she is looking at her feet, and Gray's words catches the attention of other nearby members. After a pause, Lucy decides to answer without lifting her head.

"No, it's not that." She pauses again, as if to gather her thoughts. "It's just… I'm sorry." she finishes weakly.

"Well, it's the fate of rich heiress' to get chased. And the ones who protect them are Men." says Elfman as he walks over towards the group.

"Don't say things like that!" Gray snaps. All the stress and frustration adding up is making him much more irritable than usual. Elfman looks slightly taken aback at the unusual amount of bite in Gray's words.

Hopping to the floor, Happy looks up at Lucy with a worried and confused face as he says, "But I'm really surprised. Why did you keep it a secret, Lucy?" Unmoving from her position, she starts to speak at a low volume.

"I wasn't trying to hide anything. After I ran away from home, I didn't really want to talk about it. For a full year, he never showed any interest in his runaway daughter. And now he wants me back? My father went to such terrible lengths to take me back…" she pauses from her explanation to clench her eyes shut to hold back her tears.

"He's the worst!" she cries out in a louder voice and pauses again. The guys can only watch her, not knowing exactly how to approach. Lucy opens her eyes again and lowers her voice to where it was before her outburst. "But when you get down to it, it's originally my fault for running away from home, right?" she asks more to herself than the others.

"That's not true! Your father's the bad guy here!" Elfman protests.

"You idiot!" Gray hisses out. Elfman realizes his blunder and quickly tries to make up for it.

"I mean, Phantom!" he says lamely while striking an odd pose.

The sad blonde ignores them and continues speaking, "Thanks to my selfish actions, I've caused all this trouble for everyone. I'm really, truly sorry. I guess if I went home, it would end this, right?"

Natsu speaks up before Lucy can continue down that path of thinking, "I wonder about that." Hearing his voice, Lucy pulls her gaze away from the floor to look up at the dragon slayer.

"But "rich heiress" just doesn't strike the right tone." he says with the first true smile on his face since he saw Team Shadowgear in that tree. As Lucy watches him, his voice grows more cheerful as he continues, "Laughing in this dirty old beer hall, and making a ruckus while on some adventure… That's the Lucy I know." She looks down as she mulls over his words.

Turning serious, Natsu lets go of Krysti's hand as he stands up to take a step towards the blonde and calmly asks, "You said you wanted to stay here, right? What's the point of returning to someplace you don't want to go?" Lucy jerks upright as Natsu's words strikes a chord in her. Encouraged, he continues, "You're Lucy of Fairy Tail!" She looks up at Natsu to see a bigger smile on his face. He hooks a thumb over his shoulder to point at the guild.

"This is your home to return to." Moved by the sentiments, tears well up in Lucy's eyes yet again. Only this time they weren't tears of sadness, but tears of love and hope. Gray looks annoyed by the waterworks and Elfman starts shaking in fear, tears of women being his weakness.

"Don't cry, sheesh… You're stronger than that!" Grays tells the overwrought blonde in hopes of stopping her crying. He scratches his head out of frustration, too unsettled about the whole affair to even strip. During this, Mira and a few other guild members who have medical experience finish patching up what they can of their friend. A make shift bed upstairs is made and they carefully carry her over to it. The brunette should have an easier time to rest with fresher air and removed from the ruckus below.

Mira has a hard time convincing the ice and fire mage to stay away and let Krysti rest without them hovering over her. Both boys feels particularly guilty about leaving the girls alone which let Lucy get kidnapped easily and almost cost the brunette her life. They aren't the only ones filled with guilt. Erza feels that the guilt should be placed on her since she insisted on leaving the two alone in their grief at the hospital.

Lucy feels it is all her fault for running away from home even though she is perfectly justified in doing so. Even Mira feels guilty about it since she was the one who let Krysti go off on her own with Lucy. If she just insisted that they stay in the guildhall with her, or if she went with them, things would of been different. They all stew in guilt, believing that they each are to blame for their friend almost dying when by all rights, it is completely Phantom Lord's fault.

When Krysti is out of sight, the usual noise slowly starts up again as everyone goes back to complaining, planning, or stocking up. They knew that Mira would not of tolerated any of their activities while the newest member was being treated. Reedus stays upstairs to keep an eye on Krysti as he wanted a bit quieter place to paint, along with he has grown fond of the woman in the short amount of time she has been in the guild. Her knowledge of paints and pictures instantly winning him over during their first meeting.

Looking at all the bandages that covers her figure saddens him greatly. Knowing there is not much he can do at this point to help her, he decides at least he can paint her something he thinks will cheer her up after she wakes. Back downstairs, Cana and Mira try to find out where are some of their strongest mages that were absent from the battle with Phantom.

Cana uses her tarot cards to look for Mystogan, their most mysterious member. Mira however, is using a lacrima that is designed for communication to talk to Laxus. Grandson of the Master, Laxus uses lightening magic to overwhelm his enemies in a blink of an eye and is currently tied with Mystogan in strength. Trying for the 6th time and still no luck, Cana tosses her cards into the air with a groan of defeat.

"It's no use… I can't tell where Mystogan is." she growls out in frustration. Mira turns slightly to look at her from where she is standing while talking to Laxus.

"I see. Too bad." she replies in disappointment. Cana looks over towards the white-haired woman while in a partial kneeling position.

"If their aim is Lucy, then they'll be attacking again. We've got a lot of injured people… This doesn't look good." Cana says in a worried tone. Mira turns back to the lacrima and closes her eyes, with troubled thoughts and a heavy heart. She starts talking to the image in the crystal, outlining their situation while Cana starts to chug a bottle of alcohol out of frustration.

"Master is gravely wounded. And we don't know where Mystogan is." She opens her big blue eyes which emphasizes her sorrowful expression. "You're the only one we can rely on, Laxus!"

"Huh?" sneers the image of the man in the crystal. Short, spiky, blonde hair with grey eyes and a lightening bolt scar running down one side of his face, the man gives off a gruff exterior.

"Please, come back! Fairy Tail's in a crisis!" Mira pleads. A gleeful expression replaces the sneer and Laxus turns partially away from Mira and has a hand on his head.

"Serves that old codger right!" he says with a gloating laugh. He then turns back to Mirajane with a sly look on his face. "Doesn't have anything to do with me. Handle it yourselves." he states seriously. Cana throws a glare at Laxus while tightly gripping the bottle in her hand.

"Laxus… Why, you…" she growls out in anger at his words.

"After all… The old man started this war. Why should I be the one to bail him out?" he says with a self-satisfied smirk before pinning the two girls with a hard stare.

Matching his hard stare with one of her's, Mira informs Laxus, "They're targeting Lucy… One of us!"

"Huh? Who's that?" he asks with a questioning tone and uncaring look. Then a look of recognition enters his voice. "Oh, you mean the newbie?" His face gets a lecherous look to it. "Tell her I'll be happy to save her if she becomes my woman." he says in a lower tone of voice.

Indignant, Cana shouts at him, "I can't believe you!"

"Hey now! Is that any way to speak from someone you're asking help from? And just for that, you can strip for me as well!" he snaps at bikini-top clad brunette. Cana glares back, offended and angry about his lack of regard for his home. His expression relaxes back to the I-don't-give-a-damn one he has been using. "And tell the old man to hurry up and retire, so I can take over as position as master." he continues with a tone to match his expression. He laughs greatly like the whole thing is a joke before suddenly the crystal explodes into tiny pieces.

Mira lowers her fist from where she punched the lacrima. Tears streaking down her face as she bites her lip in an attempt to keep from crying out loud. Her fists are clenched tightly, her fingernails leaving indentions in the skin.

"Mira…" whispers out Cana as she looks at her fellow mage in shock and sadness.

"I can't believe him…" Mira chokes out through her grief. Her shoulders shake from her quiet sobs. "Is that person actually a member of Fairy Tail?" she questions no one. She quickly turns away from where the image of Laxus was and determination enters her tone and features.

"In that case, I'll fight!" she says firmly with her eyes clenched tight and tears still on her cheeks. She starts to walk away and Cana steps forward to stop her.

"What are you saying?" Cana says loudly in disbelief.

"Lucy was captured and Krysti was almost killed even though I was there! I could of kept them safe!" Mira almost shouts, still keeping her eyes closed while fighting the turmoil of guilt inside of her.

Cana reaches out and grabs a hold of the crying woman's arm before stating firmly, "No. You'll get in everyone's way as you are now. Even if you were once an S-class wizard." Her face tightens as her sorrow threatens to overwhelm her and Mirajane's eyes open to show the blue orbs shining with her tears.

* * *

After Krysti's wounds have been treated, Erza went to the guild showers to relax as she mentally goes over their situation. She replays the battle against Phantom and how badly it went when they lost their morale. She feels disheartened and almost lets her feelings get the better of her. Gritting her teeth, she shoves them back behind lock and key. Not wanting to lose her focus at this reprieve. Guilt assuages her as she starts thinking about Levy, the Master, and Krysti and the condition they are in.

She punches the wall in anger as she blames herself for not going with the Master and preventing that particular tragedy. Before she could blame herself any more, the entire guildhall shakes repeatedly while large crashes are heard. Wrapping a towel around herself, she and the rest of the guild who are conscious run outside to see what is the cause of the shaking. The whole town of Magnolia looks toward the sea in absolute shock. Those that can move, quickly start exiting the town as soon as they can make their legs work.

An almost mass panic takes place as more and more people become aware of what is happening. A large shape approaches the city from the sea, which is shown to be a large castle-like building walking on mechanical legs. The members of Fairy Tail exit out the backdoor that lies facing the sea and they stand there looking on in awe and fear.

"What the hell?" Natsu shouts out the question on everyone's minds as they watch the Phantom Lord headquarters walking towards them on two large mechanical legs. The sheer size of it boggles the mind and leaves more than a few Fairy Tail mages shaking in terror. Each step the building takes, shakes the ground as if it was an earthquake.

"Their guild is walking!" Happy blurts out, unable to stop himself.

"Phantom?" Loke questions, unwilling to believe his eyes.

"What are we going to do?" asks Wakaba, fear evident in his voice. The rest of the guild watches only in silence as the monstrosity makes it way towards Fairy Tail. Erza shakes as she is almost overwhelmed by what she is seeing.

"I didn't predict this… _This_ is how they attack us?" she utters. Mira cries behind Erza, overcome by her fear. About 100 yards away, the building sets itself down in the water. One of the walls of the building lowers itself to reveal a giant barrel aiming right at Fairy Tail. The barrel extends until it resembles an enormous rifle. Dark energy starts gathering at the tip of the barrel and a orb quickly grows in size. The energy gathering creates a vortex at the site. Realizing what is happening, Erza takes action.

"This is bad! Everyone, take cover!" Erza shouts out the command as she turns to face her guild mates. Her arms sweep out over them to emphasize her words. The orb by this time is almost as big as the Fairy Tail guild hall. Erza darts towards the shore while ignoring the questioning cries of her friends. She throws off her towel as she re-quips into some armor. Bulky white and dark gray heavy armor covers the red head's form as she stands on the shoreline. Eyes wide in fury, she yells at Phantom Lord.

"I won't let you touch the guild!" she screams out.

"It's the Adamantine Armor!" Happy notices.

"She doesn't intend to actually block it, does she?!" Bisca gasps out of fear for the safety of her friend. Her partner, Alzack, yells at Erza.

"I don't care how much crazy defensive power that armor gives you!" He looks angry and scared as he yells.

"Don't do it, Erza! You'll die!" Wakaba joins in to try to persuade Erza from her decision.

"Get down!" screams out Erza, the only thing on her mind is protecting her home and family from further harm. Natsu tries to run after her to stop her and Gray latches onto the irate fire mage and has to struggle to hold him back.

"Erza!" Natsu screams out in fear.

"Natsu! All we can do is believe in her!" Gray grunts out from trying to hold back the dragon slayer. Less than a second later, the large orb is shot out towards the guild with an explosive force. The pressure from the magic alone parts the water as it speeds along to its target. In a blink of an eye, the dark vortex of magic is almost upon them. Erza, with her quick reflexes, brings her arms together and the wings on the armor's arms join together to create a giant shield.

The magic of the armor activates into a magic barrier as large as the orb. They collide in an intense explosion. Both sides push against the other, neither giving any quarter. Almost everyone cowers or is frozen in place, watching their possible death being blocked by one of their friends. Stubbornly, Natsu still tries to escape Gray's grasp to go to Erza's aid. Bit by bit, the Adamantine Armor starts to crack under the strain. Refusing to give up, Erza pumps more magic into the armor.

Straining against the power, she grunts as more of the shield disintegrates. With a sudden force, the armor breaks completely and throws Erza backwards just as the dark magical energy dissipates.

She did it.

She protected everyone. Exhausted, she reverts to the clothes she normally wears under her usual armor as she tumbles over the ground. Knowing that her family is safe, she relaxes as she tries recover from the strain. The dust clears from that last blast of power to shows a huge furrow in the ground and the ocean from where that magic was at. The members of Fairy Tail look on in awe and wonder at the power the orb had and at Erza's strength in being able to block it. Gray finally lets go of Natsu, who then rushes to the red-head's side.

"Erza, hang in there!" Natsu yells at her, clearly worried for the woman he has looked up to as an older sister for a large part of his life. A voice calls out loudly from the direction of the Phantom Lord's headquarters, who Lucy recognizes as Jose.

"Makarov. And now Erza as well. Both are out of commission. You no longer have a chance for victory. Hand over Lucy Heartfilia. Right now." Jose demands coldly. Outraged, everyone in the guild starts shouting refusals. All except Lucy herself. Guilt wracks her being as everyone is willing to go through so much pain and suffering just to keep her safe. Being one of the newest and weakest members, she doesn't feel like she deserves any of the loyalty from the guild that they are displaying for her.

"Hand her over." Jose demands again in a harsh, guttural voice. The voices of outrage from her friends continues as Lucy starts to cry, so overcome by everything. Her shoulders shake as the tears fall. Erza pushes herself up to her elbows as anger surges through her.

"We'd rather die than sell out our friends!" she screams out with all her might. A chorus of agreements flow around the guild. Lucy, shaken out of her self-induced guilt trip, looks up at all of her friends. She is touched by their loyalty, even when she hasn't been there long enough to earn such dedication in her opinion. Natsu's face is a mask of pure rage as he adds to Erza's scream.

"Our answer will never change, no matter what! We will kick your ass!" he roars out. Lucy has to use both of her hands to stifle the sobs as they tear through her body. Angered beyond belief, Jose shouts back at the defiant Fairy Tail wizards.

"Then you'll get a second extra-large helping of Jupiter! Quiver in fear for the 15 minutes it takes to charge!" This announcement quiets most of the mages on the beach. How can they stand another blast when the only person who could is out of commission? How will they block another attack? Dark shapes start flying out of the Phantom building and head towards Fairy Tail surprising everyone. At first they think it's the mages from Phantom Lord attacking until the dark shapes get closer.

"Stare into the pits of hell, Fairy Tail! You only have two choices left. Be destroyed by my troops. Or be blown away by Jupiter!" Jose's voice rings out in fury. At first, Fairy Tail thinks that the figures are more Phantom grunts coming back for revenge for the earlier raid, until Cana tells them that the dark figures are only Jose's magic and not real humans. They are surprised that they are being attacked by beings not unlike ghosts.

"We have to do something about Jupiter." Cana states seriously. Natsu turns to her and punches a fist into his other palm.

"I'll bust it to pieces!" he declares before getting into an eager position, wanting to hit something. "15 minutes right? Let me at it!" he says loudly, just as serious as Cana. She nods and quick as a flash, the dragon slayer takes off to destroy the gun. "Happy!" he shouts out for his blue-furred friend.

"Aye, sir!" the cat yells out with a determined face as he flies towards his friend and picks him up with his paws. Flying as fast as he can, Happy takes Natsu over to the barrel. On the ground, Gray and Elfman start running towards the enemy guild as well.

"Elfman, we're going in too!" the ice mage calls out to his friend.

"All right!" Elfman agrees while running beside Gray. Erza finally passes out from her ordeal and two of her guild mates brings her inside the ruined hall. They lay her gently down on a mostly undamaged table near Krysti's makeshift bed before hurrying back out to join in the fray. Cana's serious expression hardens into grim determination as Erza is safe behind walls and out of immediate danger.

"All right! We'll make a stand here! Got it?" she commands the rest of her fellow mages while pulling out her tarot cards. The guild shouts out their agreement. A determined Mirajane marches over to Lucy and grabs her wrist.

"Lucy, this way!" the white-haired woman insists as she leads Lucy away from the beach. Mira takes her to around the front of the guild, and out of sight of Phantom Lord. Reedus is out front and Mira starts issuing orders.

"We have a safe house. Stay there until the battle is over." Mira directs that towards the blonde girl who pulls her hand out of the other woman's grasp.

"But… I have to fight alongside everyone! It's my fault this happened!" protests the celestial mage. Mira turns to face Lucy and stares at her firmly.

"No, you're wrong, Lucy. No one thinks that. For our fallen friends… For our guild… and to protect you! Everyone takes pride in this battle." the older woman tells her in a tone that brooks no nonsense. The runaway heiress looks sad at those words, she really wants to help fight and not just sit behind some walls like a weak princess. It's one of the reasons why she ran away in the first place.

Mira reaches a hand towards Lucy's face as she continues, "So listen to what I say, ok?" A soft glow emits from the former S-class wizard's hand which causes the blonde to look up and gasp. Her eyes shut and her legs wobble before falling forward. Mira quickly catches her before she hits the ground and looks at Reedus.

"Reedus, take Lucy to the safe house!" she commands.

"Oui!" he replies as he takes out his paint and proceeds to paint a picture of a small covered wagon being pulled by a large pig on his stomach. Activating his magic, a large pink puff of smoke appears and it reveals that the picture on his stomach became real.

"Please be careful!" Mira tells Reedus as they load Lucy in the wagon. He gets into the driver's seat and takes hold of the reins. He repeats his last statement and gives the reins a snap to get the pig to move. They take off at a face pace as the white-haired mage watches them hurry down the now empty streets. Knowing that she can't fight, but still wanting to protect her friends, Mira does the only thing that she can think to do to help.

She uses her transformation magic to turn into Lucy.

Back at the rear of the guild, Jose's ghosts, which have been identified as Shades, are attacking the Fairy Tail wizards. They fly through the wizards, causing chaos throughout the ranks. Mira prays for Natsu to be able to take out the Jupiter weapon soon. She heads back into the guild to take care of the two injured women inside. The Shades disappear easily when hit with magic, but due to the fact that they can fly, makes it harder to hit them.

Some of the Fairy Tail wizards notice that if a Shade touches them that they weaken. Worried, they call out to the others about it only to have it confirmed. The Shades were cursed. Jose, using a special long range viewing magic, watches and listens to the struggles of the mages on the beach with sadistic pleasure. Hearing their questions towards each other, he feels magnanimous and decides to confirm their suspicions.

"Exactly! Phantom soldiers where just a touch will sap away your life! That is Shade!" he calls out in cruel joy. Hearing this, Fairy Tail's resolve to not get hit and to protect their fallen friends increases. Angry at Jose and the situation entirely, Bisca changes her rifle into two semi-automatic guns and fires upon the entire lot of Shades. The sky clears of them, but only to reappear again a few seconds later. Frustrated and shocked, the mages can only grit their teeth and continue to attack in defense of their home.

As they fight, Mira sadly watches out from inside the guildhall as she tends to Erza's wounds. During this, Happy has already dropped Natsu on the end of the Jupiter barrel. Using his flame punches, the dragon slayer has been pounding at it for over a minute. Natsu grows quickly frustrated at how he can't even leave a dent in the barrel.

"I guess we'll have to destroy it from the inside." Happy observes. Natsu stops his attacks and looks up at Happy in surprise as he realizes that he never would of thought of that. With a quick leap, the duo lands on the inside of the barrel and runs inside the building. They gasp in shock when they get to the other side of the Jupiter gun.

A cavernous room lies before them with the first thing that catches their eyes is the giant lacrima floating in the middle of the room. It was at least the size of a house, never have they seen one that big before. Four other room-sized lacrimas are positioned an equal distance from the large one in the middle and from each other.

"W-What's that?" asks Natsu in astonishment more to himself than to Happy. A clank is heard and a warm female voice announces that there is 11 minutes left until Jupiter can fire again.

"It looks like a lacrima for concentrating magic." Happy puzzles out.

"I never seen a lacrima that big before." Natsu says, still in awe at the size.

Happy explains what it is to Natsu in a serious tone, "A Magic Focusing Cannon is a weapon that uses concentrated magic power instead of a cannon shell."

"I don't really get it, but all I need to do it break it, right?" Natsu asks, as he prepares to leap down to the ground. An unknown male voice cuts through the air.

"I won't let you do that." it says confidently. Surprised, the two friends look down where the source of the voice is coming from.

"A lookout?" Happy questions. As they look at a seemingly older male standing on the floor in front of the center-placed lacrima.

"Whatever! I'll just get rid of anyone in our way!" Natsu declares, already assuming the opponent below them is already defeated. He jumps down, prepared to end this in one blow.

The light gives the taller male's eyes a strange glow as he replies, "I won't let you."

"I don't have time for this! Outta the way!" Natsu shouts as his fist ignites. Almost reaching the ground, Natsu cocks his fist back, ready to punch when suddenly he punches his own face. The force of the blow knocks him sideways as his mind tries to understand what just happened. Happy floats down using his wings as he is immediately concerned over the strange behavior of the dragon slayer.

"Natsu, what are you doing?" Happy questions loudly.

"Uh, my body is… on its own…" he manages to get out while his fist is still pressing against his cheek. He quenches his flames and is able to get back in control. Flipping, Natsu is able to land without injury. His face is a mask of seriousness as he knows that this isn't going to be an easy fight.

"It looks like… you're the one getting in the way." says the older man, just as cocky as before. Natsu studies his opponent intensely. Two tone black and white hair done up in a high ponytail catches his attention first. The over confident posture is next, which causes Natsu's anger to flare at being looked down upon. On the newcomers face is a thick black line that goes across his nose, splitting his face in half. The cheerful woman's voice comes on and announces 10 minutes are left.

"Move it. I'm going to smash that giant crystal!" Natsu demands.

Happy floats besides his best friend and tells him quietly, "If you can break that lacrima, Jupiter shouldn't be able to fire." The two humans stare each other down for a while trying to intimidate the other.

"I won't let you." repeats the unknown man after a period of silence. "Didn't I tell you?" he continued. The females voices announces 7 minutes are left. Natsu ignites a fist and launches another attack at the enemy blocking their way. Against his will, Natsu's flaming fist punches him in the face again. This catches the dragon slayer off guard and he tumbles on the ground, away from the other man.

Natsu gets up and touches his cheek gingerly from where he unwillingly punched himself twice. He wonders what the hell is going on with his body attacking himself like that. Happy is frantic as he tries to get Natsu back on track to focus on destroying the lacrima. Ignoring the cat, Natsu rushes in to attack with another flaming punch.

He loses control of his fist, but instead of punching he is made to spin in a circle which causes a small fiery tornado to form around him. The other male jumps and hits Natsu with his knee, causing the spinning to stop and the flames to die down. Natsu crashes into a wall, leaving a sizeable dent, and then falls to the ground with a thud. 6 minutes before Jupiter fires is announced.

"I am Totomaru, and I manipulate the element of fire." Totomaru announces to the still fallen Natsu who pushes himself up to stand.

"Eh, one of those whatchamacallit-somethingorother 4?" Natsu asks.

"Natsu, it's the Element 4! The only part you got right was the 4!" Happy yells, frustrated at the dragon slayer's inability to recall names. Ignoring the cat, Totomaru directs his comments towards the other fire mage.

"All flames are under my control." he states as if it was a well-known fact. Needless to say, Natsu doesn't believe him and Totomaru continues to boast, "Whether enemy or in nature, all flames are mine!" The Elemental 4 mage hunches down, in preparation of getting attacked.

"My flames are mine!" Natsu shouts out harshly, getting mad that someone has the audacity to try to control his dragon fire. Happy again shouts at Natsu to ignore Totomaru, but to no avail.

"Seems you drew a bad match-up, my little fire wizard." Totomaru says, fully confident in his abilities. At this point, the 4 smaller lacrimas begin to glow with magic. As the glow brightens, magic streaks across towards the larger crystal in electrical form. This causes the Magic Concentration lacrima to glow as well as it charges. Natsu gasps in shock at the sight, the enemy temporarily forgotten. Happy states the obvious that it is activating while the female announces informs that there is 5 minutes left.

Tired of defending, Totomaru goes in for the attack with a shout, "Blue Fire!" His magic activates and column of blue fire lashes out and envelops Natsu. The smirk on the Phantom Lord mage quickly fades into one of shock. The pink-haired guy was _eating_ his fire.

Laughing as he eats, Natsu says, "Ooh, that's cold! Never eaten fire like that before." The sword wielding fire user figures out who he is facing and addresses him.

"I see… So you're the Dragon Slayer I've heard rumors about. This means we're both at a disadvantage. Fire won't work on either of us."

Angry, Natsu yells out, "Don't go decidin' that yourself! I haven't even hit you yet!"

"Exactly!" Totomaru says like he is teaching a really slow child something simple. "I can't be hit by fire!" Hearing this, Natsu pounds his fists together to start up his signature breath attack. Totomaru activates his magic before Natsu is ready to spew out the dragon flames.

"All fire is under my control!" the Phantom mage exclaims. Unexpectedly, instead of fire Natsu spits all over Totomaru who looks disgusted by the action. He starts to lose his cocky manner as his frustration with the dragon slayer grows. Natsu points and laughs in victory for tricking the other fire mage. The female voice sounds off that only 2 minutes remain.

Happy starts flying around everywhere while going ballistic that Natsu isn't trying to stop the Jupiter and just wants to fight. The two humans ignore the cat's incessant shouting as they glare at each other.

"Why, you… You tricked me!" Totomaru accuses harshly, his anger growing.

"Orange Fire!" he shouts as he activates his magic for an attack.

"Didn't you see? I _eat_ fire!" states Natsu confidently. He starts to suck in the fire but has to stop. "It stinks! My nose!" he cries out as his face starts turning colors from the disgusting odor the flames hold. He rolls on the ground and covers his nose with his hands trying to get rid of the smell that is assaulting his really sensitive nose. Totomaru laughs as he gets even for that trick Natsu played on him.

"That fire's the smell of a mop drenched with curdled milk!" he states proudly. Almost recovered, Natsu moves over to the other guy and the two mages start pushing against each other with their shoulders. They growl at each other for the trick the other has pulled on them. The female voice announces that only 1 minute remains before Jupiter fires.

The glow from the orbs seem to increase as time has gone on. Happy is crazed with fear and tries to physically pull Natsu away from Totomaru while telling him to calm down so he can focus on Jupiter. Getting angry, Natsu shakes off Happy and rushes in to attack Totomaru but without his flames. Noticing this, Totomaru smirks feeling that victory is assured.

"Whoa, there… Giving up on magic and using your fists? In that case I, with my katana, have the advantage!" Totomaru jumps back as he says this to give him room to draw his sword that hangs on his hip. In a blink of the eye, he appears in front of Natsu and tries to slash him which gets dodged by the dragon slayer.

Natsu keeps jumping around dodging while Totomaru doesn't let up and keeps getting within range to slice up the Fairy Tail mage. With a swift upside-down kick, Natsu disarms Totomaru and the sword flies into the lacrima in the center of the room. It cracks, but it isn't enough to destroy it. Natsu smirks knowing that he evened the odds.

"Too bad." calls out the Elemental 4 mage. "A scratch like that can't destroy such a large lacrima." he says arrogantly.

"Oh? Is that so?" Natsu asks wonderingly with his back to the lacrima in question. His fists light up and he goes in for the attack with more punches while Totomaru dodges easily. "Than how about this?" Natsu asks while attacking with a fiery fist.

"Honestly, you don't learn a thing, do you?" Totomaru says in contempt at Natsu's idiocy. He activates his magic and has Natsu punch himself in the face, again. Angry, Natsu ignites his flame out from his fists so much that Totomaru gets hit with it. Looking singed, the Phantom Lord mage glares at Natsu in surprise and anger. Happy is freaking out as the magic is gathering for another shot and the female voice announces only 20 seconds is left. Natsu lets out a wordless roar as he creates two giant fireballs, one in each hand.

"That won't work a second time. I told you already… All fire is under my control!" states Totomaru, fully confident that the dragon slayer is going to fail to destroy the lacrima in time. He activates his magic to take control of the flames swirling around Natsu. He grunts in surprise when the flames don't obey him like before. The fiery vortex around Natsu grows in size and quickly reaches Totomaru's position. The fire manipulator can't believe that Natsu was able to find a way to block his control during a battle.

Enraged, Natsu bellows out, "How dare you move _my_ fire!" He then throws the massive fireball right at Totomaru. The Elemental 4 wizard dodges to the side with a smirk.

"What does it matter as long as you can't hit me?" Totomaru taunts. Noticing something odd, he turns to see that the fireball turns into a fist of fire and it hits the lacrima as the female voice counts out the last seconds. He stares in utter shock, not believing that he let the dragon slayer's attack hit the lacrima.

Still angry, Natsu gives him a smug grin as he informs the other mage that he wasn't aiming for him with that attack. The fire drives the sword that is still stuck in the lacrima in further and deep cracks appear over the orb's surface. A giant explosion rocks the entire building as the large lacrima bursts and takes out the entire Jupiter system.

Faint cheers can be heard over the explosions as the members of Fairy Tail are ecstatic that the Jupiter gun is destroyed. As the explosions clear along with the dust and dirt, it shows the entire room is now just a pile of rubble.

Natsu chuckles a bit before he explains to the bewildered Element 4 mage, "Look here, bud. Fire ain't gonna listen to people telling it what to do. It responds to your heart's will." he adds a grin to the end of his statement. Happy looks on in awe and slight embarrassment. It dawns on the blue-furred cat that Natsu had to fight Totomaru to gain control of his flames or there was no way he could of destroyed Jupiter. He hangs his head in shame that he let fear keep him from thinking clearly.

Down on the beach, the destruction of the Jupiter gun raises the morale of the fighters. With increased vigor, they renews their attacks on the Shades. Mirajane, still posing as Lucy, looks on at her friends with great relief. With the threat of Jupiter gone, they now have much better odds at surviving this battle.

Back inside the destroyed Jupiter room, Natsu is readying another attack that he is focusing on hitting Totomaru with.

"You can't manipulate my fire any longer! It's your turn to get blown to smithereens, Phantom!" he shouts out. Suddenly, the whole room rocks causing the three males to lose their footing. Unseen by those three, the guildhall starts moving. The rooms and buildings shift around as the entire place starts to _transform_. The unnatural movement causes Natsu's motion sickness to act up. But thanks to the tea he has been drinking for almost two weeks, it doesn't affect him nowhere nearly as badly as it would have. He sends up a silent prayer in thanks for his housemate and her medical knowledge and kindness.

Outside, the Shades retreat which gives the fighters on the beach a small reprieve. Catching their breath, they watch as the Phantom Lord headquarters shape shift. Totomaru knows what is going on and is surprised that Jose is resorting to this drastic action. Random Phantom Lord mages scramble to get to safety so they won't fall off into the water or get squashed as everything keep shifting. Totomaru grins in victory, knowing that nothing can stop the building after it shape shifts.

"The giant has awakened! It's over for you guys!" he crows. Natsu hunches over with one arm wrapped around his stomach, fighting back against the motion sickness. He is able to stay on his feet and his face isn't as pale as it would have been, but he hasn't been completely cured. Down on the beach, everyone looks up in horror and fascination.

If they thought the enemy guild hall was huge before, it is nothing compared to how it is now. It towers over the entire town as it _stands up_. A magical giant stands before the guild of Fairy Tail, and no one can believe their eyes. The Shades stream around the giant, almost like a sash and Jose's voice sounds out again as he speaks to the guild.

"You should grovel and beg for forgiveness, you damn kids. Then you will learn your place! Feast on despair until the end of your pitiful lives!" Jose almost growls in irritation. The giant starts to walk closer to the guild and the Shades fly back down for another attack. Too focused on defending their home, no one notices a pair of blue-grey eyes opening.


	8. Chapter 8

**A/N: I do not own Fairy Tail characters or the plot.**

* * *

Previously:

_ "You should grovel and beg for forgiveness, you damn kids. Then you will learn your place! Feast on despair until the end of your pitiful lives!" José almost growls in irritation. The giant starts to walk closer to the guild and the Shades fly back down for another attack. Too focused on defending their home, no one notices a pair of blue-grey eyes opening._

* * *

_ "Lucy! Run! I'll hold them off!" I shout out before dashing towards the Phantom Lord mages. _

_ "I won't run! How dare you do such a thing to Levy-chan!" Lucy cries out in anger from behind me. I go to roundhouse punch Sol and he easily knocks me off balance and the force from the block pushes me back a few feet. I start to get back up for another attack when suddenly my arm won't move. Looking back, I see that my arm and Lucy are trapped in a bubble of water. Feeling horrified, I struggle to get into the water to try to get to Lucy to pull her out. _No. Dear god, no!

_ "Non, non, non! With non of 3, I correct your error! Destroying your guild and attacking Levy-sama was all the work of Gajeel-sama. Well, it is true that all of us in the guild were for the idea, however…" Sol calls out in an almost gleeful manner._

_ "Let her go you bastards!" I whip my head around to face the enemy duo in front of me and roar out at them. A feeling of power starts to well up inside me to go along with my rage about how they are drowning the girl that I consider a little sister._

_ "Non, non, non, non! With non of 4, I simply cannot let her go! It is for the great Phantom Lord that we must take her with us." Sol says with a waggling finger while looking our way. Lucy is pounding against the inside edge of the bubble, but cannot make a dent in it. I keep trying to break the water spell to free her, helplessness and rage building in me as each second passes by. _I have to save her! I have to!

_ "What is this? Let me go!" Lucy cries out from inside the water. I roar out my frustration and using my legs, I try to push myself into the bubble to get to Lucy._

_ "Juvia's water lock cannot be broken." says the rain woman, never changing her tone. Lucy's eyes start to close and her struggles weaken as she runs out of air. Seeing this, I renew my struggles as I feel my control slipping and I start going ballistic. A feeling of something, bubbling just under the surface, that is trying to get out courses through my body as I turn to lock eyes with my enemies. I see them both flinch at my glare while I'm still trying as hard as I can to get to my little sister._

_ "I SWEAR I'LL RIP YOUR HEADS OFF AND SHIT DOWN YOUR NECKS IF YOU HARM HER!" I scream in rage. Everything about me is bubbling, about to burst. _I can't let it happen again! I can't let someone else die without doing anything! NOOOO!

_ "Très bien," Sol says acting like he is completely unconcerned about me being caught like I am as he shifts around uncomfortably. _

_ "Do not fear. Juvia will not kill her. Because it's Juvia's job to bring back… Lucy Heartfilia." Juvia states._

_ "I WON'T LET YOU HAVE HER! YOU'LL HAVE TO KILL ME FIRST!" I bellow out towards them._

_ "Victoire! That can be easily arranged," says Sol in sadistic pleasure._

_ "We have captured the target. Drip, drip, drop…" says Juvia._

_ "LUCY!" I cry out in a maelstrom of emotions. _

"LUCY!" The scream tears harshly out of my throat. "LUCY!" I scream out again, ignoring the pain in my body, as I try to push myself up. I can't make out where I am with my eyes blurring up like usual after waking up. _I need to find her, I have to get to her. They have her, the bastards. I can't let her end up like… him. I got to find her! _I cry out in my mind, my throat too dry and hoarse to shout out anymore.

A pair of hands grabs onto my arm and with a snarl, I yank myself free to try to launch a counter-attack. The hands grab onto my arm that I'm attacking with, effectively stopping me. I struggle against the hold that is until I notice a mop of blonde hair in front of me and a soft feminine voice that sounds familiar call out. I can barely make out the words over the thumping of my heart.

"Lu-Lucy?" I call out hesitantly while using my free hand to wipe the away the wetness from my eyes. The hands restraining my arm release their hold and my now free arm drops back onto the floor with a thump.

Relief starts to flood through my body until I hear a quiet reply that I don't understand. I freeze in my actions and tense up again until I recognize the voice. _Mirajane? _I slowly lower my hand from my face to look at the spitting image of Lucy sitting in front of me with a sad expression adorning her face. Before I can work up the courage to say something, she speaks.

It's Lucy but with Mira's voice. I look at her, not understanding what is going on. A headache and other pains in my body make it hard to think. _Why can't I understand her? _I grimace as a wave of agony hits me and the blonde in front of me smiles gently at my expression. Then with a glow of magic, her face turns into Mira's. _So its Mira using her Transforming magic then. _Upon seeing my look of understanding, she uses her magic to change her face back into Lucy's.

"W-What's go-going on?" I manage to croak out. At my question, the soft smile on Mira's face drops and she turns to grab a cup of something for me to drink, probably in an attempt to prolong answering. No longer in a crazed panic, I can feel every ache and pain in my body. Everything is throbbing and I can still hear the blood rushing through my ears.

The rhythm of my heart almost matches the throbbing of my headache and Mira, the sweetheart that she is, reaches a hand under my head and helps me lift it so I can drink easier as the cup is brought near my face. The cool liquid flows down my throat and if I didn't know better, I would say that I drank a healing potion from how much better I felt. _Who knows, in this world it probably is._

I let out a large sigh of relief and sank back down as I feel the water cool the burning in my belly that I didn't know was there. Mira lays my head back down gently and I close my eyes as I let the liquid work its magic. Something cool and damp is placed on my forehead, causing me to open my eyes again to see the younger woman leaning back from placing what I'm assuming is a wet rag on my head.

I look her right in the eyes before asking in a low voice, "Is Lucy safe?"

She slowly shakes her head and says something clearly to me, but I can't understand her. Realization floods through me. _My translator... _I reach up to my ear, ignoring the pangs of pain in my arm and find nothing. _I must have lost it when that guy was beating me up. _As I begin to recall the memories of what happened, my rage starts to build up again. I don't notice Mira flinching from my look of hatred aimed towards the ceiling and the steam coming from the rag on my forehead.

* * *

Appearing in front of the slightly incapacitated dragon slayer, Totomaru quickly figures out Natsu's problem.

"You get motion sick?" he says partly not believing his good luck. Quickly the enemy fire mage's features become smug despite his battle-worn look and he continues speaking, "You can't eat fire as you are now. I'll burn you to a crisp with my strongest magic!" Totomaru crows out at the end while getting into position to cast his magic.

Natsu growls at him, "Oh yeah!? We will see whether or not I can still eat your magic, motion sickness or not!" Natsu spreads his legs to get into a wider stance, determined to tackle the magic head on.

"Natsu!" cries out Happy in worry as he stands by his best friend. The magic circle appears in front of Totomaru as his magic activates.

"I'll blow you to bits, Dragon Slayer!" yells out the Phantom Lord fire mage, positive that victory was at hand. His face changes to one of surprise as an unnatural cold covers his arms. His magic dissipating, he looks down in shock to find his arms are covered in ice.

Growing ice.

_ Rapidly_ growing ice.

"What the…?" was all he was able to manage to get out of his mouth before he was completely encased.

"If you're a man, fly to the heavens and become a star!" a gruff voice shouts out as Elfman comes into view. With his right arm transformed into a large lizard-like limb, he punches the block of ice containing Totomaru a long distance away until the enemy mage was completely out of sight. With a large grin plastered on his face, Natsu turns to face his friends.

"You guys…" he starts to say with barely hidden relief that he doesn't have to fight while his motion sickness is still acting up.

"Too cool!" Happy shouts out in joy with a paw raised high into the air. "Gray, Elfman!"

Gray looks down at the hunched over figure of the dragon slayer and says to himself in an insulting way, "Natsu is so pathetic."

"If you're a man, _you_ should make the _car_ sick." Elfman agrees, saying this before Natsu can respond to Gray's taunt. Natsu grits his teeth in annoyance. but chooses to remain silent so he can concentrate on recovering faster from the bout of motion sickness he is having.

Turning around to look at the rubble on the floor, Gray asks, "So, are these the remains of Jupiter?"

"Aye!" answers Happy proudly.

"Good job there," Gray says to Happy as if the cat was the one to destroy the lacrima and not his life-long rival. The tremors and movement of the Phantom guild hall finally stop to which Natsu notices immediately.

"It stopped all of the sudden!" he exclaims partly in surprise and partly in happiness as his stomach finally settles down again even though it wasn't as bad as it would have been almost two weeks earlier.

I'll take a look outside!" Happy volunteers, as he takes to the air to see what happened to the guildhall to cause such shaking. Back on the beach, the attacks by the Shades has yet to ease up. The now transformed guildhall lifts up one of its arms and starts to slowly move its arm in a circle in front of it. From the tip of its extended fingers, shapes start to form in the air where the finger is and stays after it moves. The people down on the beach try to figure out what it is doing.

"Letters? No…" Ponders Alzack as he is shooting Shades with Bisca at his back.

"That's… No way!" Bisca exclaims in dread. Laki shouts out the answer that the Fairy Tail mages don't want to be true.

"It's a magic circle!" she exclaims angrily as she looks away from the battle to study the magic scrawl taking form in the air above them. Hearing Laki's shout, Mira moves away from Krysti and Erza to look out the window at the continuing battle. A loud gasp catches Krysti's attention and with gritted teeth, pushes herself to stand up. Without the younger woman to force her back down to rest, she is able to stand up on wobbly legs and slowly limps over to the white-haired woman's side at the window.

"That magic circle is for Abyss Break!" Mira exclaims to herself quietly as she starts to tremble slightly.

Moving up next to her, Krysti asks quietly, "Abyss Break?", the only two words that she was able to understand. The younger woman jumps in surprise, not noticing that her charge was behind her. She gives the larger woman a chiding look which doesn't faze Krysti at all.

She asks Mira again, "What is Abyss Break, Mira?" The white-haired woman sighs in defeat knowing that Krysti won't stop nagging until she gets her answer. She points outside towards the guildhall slash robot that is making the magic circle. Krysti sidles up next to her to look outside, and a large gasp tears out of the brunette's throat at the sight.

She turns her head to face the younger woman as she asks, "Phantom?" Mira nods her head solemnly. A snarl adorns the other-worlder's face as she gazes back at the monstrosity in front of the Fairy Tail guildhall.

"Those rat bastards won't give up," she growls out. Not understanding what she is saying, the younger woman just wraps gentle arms around Krysti's shoulders and tries to pull her away from the sight. Reluctantly she allows the blue-eyed woman to lead her back to the makeshift bed that she was on. After a moment, a cough that cuts over the sound of the ensuing battle outside of the guild catches both girl's attention. Cana is standing beside the window and holes in the wall looking in at the two with a grim expression. Mira and Krysti both head back to the gap to face Cana. The card wielding mage turns to face to battle in case the Shades manage to slip through and try to attack the guildhall.

"Mira, how long until that magic spell activates?" the younger brunette asks in complete seriousness.

With a deep breath, Mira answers. "About 10 minutes, I think. We have to destroy its power source, somehow." Glancing back inside at the occupants, Cana tries to encourage the downhearted woman and she flinches at the look of rage in the newest guild member's eyes.

"Our men inside must be thinking the same thing." the younger brunette says before looking back out to survey the battle on the beach. A spark of hope flashes in Mira's eyes as she turns to face the thinner brunette.

"There're other people other than Natsu in there?" the former S-class mage asks desperately. Krysti perks up at hearing Natsu being mentioned as she was deep in thought on what she wants to do if she ever gets a hold of any of the Phantom mages.

"Gray and Elfman," Cana says grimly, knowing how her friend is going to react. And her prediction was true as Mira's face changes to a mask of horror.

"Elfman! But why?" she cries out in terror. At this Cana looks sad, knowing how worried Mira has been over her younger brother after the accident.

"Why? He also wants to…" Cana starts to say as Mira presses herself up against the wall to face her better. Krysti steps closer as well to put a reassuring hand on the shoulder of the woman that she views as a sister after seeing the terrified look on her face.

"It's no use! He can't fight! You know that, Cana!" Mira cries out in protest. Cana looks back at the guild's bartender and gives her a confident smirk.

"He can fight. He helped us when we raided them before, remember?" she says reassuringly.

Mira argues back, "Fighting with their lackeys is one thing, but if he goes up against their big guns… As he is now, Elfman can't…" she trails off, not wanting to finish the sentence. Krysti pulls the distressed woman into a hug, her earlier rage now forgotten as she wants to comfort her friend. Cana turns away not wanting to see the look of anguish on her friend's face. Shushing noises and soft hums are heard despite the battle taking place not far away.

"Hey, Mira… When that happened, you, Elfman, and everyone too… We all suffered a deep wound." Cana says reluctantly. Krysti looks back and forth between the two women, wanting to know what they are talking about. She decides against asking what the problem is, knowing that she wouldn't be able to understand anyways. All she knows is that it has something to do with Mira's brother.

Cana continues to speak, "However, in his own way, he's forced himself to move forward. I know you realize this."

At those words, Mira clutches tighter onto Krysti's arms and hugs back as she thinks over Cana's words.

* * *

Meanwhile, back inside of the Phantom guildhall, Happy finishes telling the three guys what he learned from his scouting trip and is looking extremely scared. Natsu, looking pissed off yet again at the actions of Phantom Lord starts to rage in place. Gray and Elfman, on the other hand, try to stay calm and composed to try to think of a way to stop Abyss Break.

"We have no choice but to split up and find the power moving this giant." says Gray more calmly than he feels.

"Man… out of the frying pan and into the fire…" Elfman grumbles, getting fed up with Phantom Lord. Natsu holds a fist in front of his face as determination fills his features.

"Okay then. Let's do it!" he states gruffly.

"Yeah!" the other two grunt out in agreement as they all get pumped up to stop Phantom Lord and to save their home. The four quickly separate into three groups, each hoping to find the power source.

* * *

After he has run down a few empty halls and meeting no other Phantom mages, Elfman growls before shouting out, "The Man, Elfman, will protect Fairy Tail with his life!", in an effort to keep his fighting spirits up.

A few seconds later a strange echoing voice fills the hall asking, "Oui?" Elfman stops in puzzlement, wondering who said that. Before his eyes, a strange being pops out of the floor with green hair and a brown suit.

"Salut!" cries out Monsieur Sol in greeting.

"An Element 4?" asks Elfman, noticing the power the strange being is radiating. He pulls off his jacket so he can have a better range of movement for the fight he is about to have.

"My name is Sol! Please call me Monsieur Sol!" The Element 4 mage calls out happily as he wobbles back and forth, still connected to the ground. Hearing that name, Elfman realizes that he is facing one of the two mages that not only kidnapped Lucy but almost killed the newest member of the guild, Krysti.

"Perfect timing. I'll force you to tell me how to stop this giant." Elfman states confidently while his magic increases before he shouts out, "Beast Arm!", as he activates it. His magic circle appears over his upraised fist and engulfs his arm. When it disappears, Elfman's right arm is now covered in short black fur. "Black Bull." he finishes seeming much calmer than just a second before.

Giving Elfman an intense look, Sol asks, "Oh? Just your right arm? Are you sure?" Elfman just grunts and readies his stance for attack or defense. "It seems the rumors were true," Sol says happily while wiggling in the air like a worm coming out of a hole in the ground.

"I've had enough of your blabbing!" Elfman calls out in irritation. He rushes forward, fully intending on landing a solid punch on the annoying brown-suited man. Sol jumps out of the way jump before Elfman's fist make contact at the floor where Sol was merged with.

Slyly, he asks Elfman, "Didn't you have a little sister?" Caught off guard, Elfman doesn't pursue Sol as the other man limberly back flips away from the larger man to gain some distance. When there is enough distance, Sol calls out an attack, "Sable Dance!" Wind and dust get kicked up, temporarily blinding Elfman. He brings up his magic enhanced arm to block the dust from getting into his eyes. Sol quickly melts into the floor and reforms behind Elfman to get him at a blind spot.

"Roche Concerto!" Sol cries out as he goes in for another attack as Elfman is turning to face him. The rubble under the Fairy Tail mage is blasted upwards, knocking Elfman into the air. Recovering quickly, Elfman hops backward a few times to put more distance between him and the Element 4 mage before another attack could be made.

"Non, non, non…" Sol calls out before quickly merging with the floor again. Expecting another attack from behind, Elfman quickly turns to find Sol with his incredibly flexible body wrapped around his arm like a snake.

"Salut!" Sol says happily like they aren't fighting.

"You really creep me out," Elfman growls out as he gets uncomfortable having the other man wrapped around his arm. He grabs a hold of Sol's body and tries to pry him off.

"Non, non, non…" Sol calls out again. "Three nons and you're in quite a sad state."

Grunting with the effort of trying to get the other man off of him, Elfman demands, "Unhand me, Monster Sol!"

"Monsieur!" Sol cries out the correction to his name just as he starts to stretch again. With a quick snap of his muscles, he is back to normal and right in front of Elfman. A quick flick of his foot and he gives the Fairy Tail mage a swift kick in the face before merging his feet with the floor again. Elfman recovers from the hit and grits his teeth in annoyance at how strong the other guy is.

"Speaking of which…" Sol says conversationally like they were discussing something trivial over a cup of tea instead of having a battle. His expression hardens and an intense look of malice takes over as he continues, "You failed at a complete body takeover and went out of control…" Guilt racks through Elfman's body at the mention of his past.

He pulls himself together enough to shout out furiously, "Enough! Beast Arm Iron Bull!" Jumping into the air, Elfman plans on giving Sol a mighty punch straight to the face to make him stop talking about painful memories he has no right in knowing. Halfway into his attack, a stone statue in the likeness of a girl appears in front of Sol. It appeared so suddenly and looks so real that Elfman instantly breaks off his attack.

"Lisanna!" He cries out in dismay.

"I apologize," Sol says unapologetically as he continues to wiggle like a worm. "But as you were stepping on me previously, I read the gap in your memory." Elfman snarls at this piece of news disturbed and enraged that this mage had the audacity to read his mind and use his painful past as a shield.

"Why you,…" Elfman growls out, planning on really putting the hurt on this guy. Sol places his hands on the statue's shoulders while giving it a leering look.

"What a precious little sister of yours." He then looks over to Elfman with a smirk on his face. "I wonder where she might be now?" Sol's eyes widen as that malicious look appears again. "Oh, how _rude_ of me. She's buried in the cold, dark ground, isn't she? Oh, how sad." As Sol talks about Elfman's little sister, the larger man lets his transform back to normal as he stares at the statue of Lisanna.

"How could you do such a cruel thing?" Sol continues, sounding remorseful. Elfman hears his sister's voice in his head and he howls out in rage and grief, trying to shake off the painful memories.

"I won't be deceived… I got to do this!" he cries out as he tries to accomplish a full body takeover instead of just his right arm.

"Non, non, non…" says Sol as he strokes his mustache in a villainous way. "You can't do that. What would happen if you made a debacle of a full-body Take Over, and you lost control?" Out of the floor, more statues of Lisanna appeared. "Did you forget what happened last time?" Sol cries out, enjoying the mental torment he is putting the Fairy Tail mage through. He made the statues look even more life-like than before and even started having them move just like they were alive.

"Elf-niichan… How could you forget…How cruel… Why?" The statues repeated, over and over again and in her voice. Elfman tried to ignore his sister's accusing voice, tried to ignore the statues that looked just like her, tried to ignore the memories.

"Don't do it, Elf-niichan." her voice pleads out to him full of sisterly love and concern. With that, his concentration broke and he fell to his knees, consumed in the grief that her death has brought.

"You shouldn't try to do what you can't handle." Sol's smug voice carries over to Elfman. "It seems your magic power has weakened considerably."

Shaking with the effort of trying to control his sorrow, he growls out, "You coward… If you're a Man, then fight me fair and square, fist to fist.

"If I'm a man, you say?" asks Sol, his expression unchanging. His voice lowers into a more menacing tone. "Non, non, non… I cannot let that pass." With a wave of his arms, the Lisanna statues break down and fly above Sol's head. A flat swirling disc of dust.

"Not from someone with no right to question the manliness of others. Trash like you who killed his little sister!" Sol yells out at the end like he is planning on exacting retribution from Elfman's mistake. The accusation stabs Elfman in the heart, but he could feel that perhaps, Sol was right?

"Plâtre Sonate!" cries out Sol. A rock fist appearing in front of him and shooting away straight towards Elfman. The blast hit the wall so hard that it was seen from the outside.

* * *

While this is happening, Cana rejoined the battle a while after talking to Mira. Krysti is checking up on Erza while the white-haired woman is standing again by the window looking up at the Phantom guildhall. Cana's words echo through her mind about how her little brother has been able to move forward from what happened 2 years ago.

The determination to do everything she can to save her home and to move forward fills her heart. Without thinking it through, she comes to a decision and acts upon it. With quick strides, she marches out of the guildhall and out onto the beach.

"Mira! What are you doing? Get back here!" Krysti calls out, but her pleas fall upon deaf ears. The white-haired beauty of Fairy Tail is making a move and no one can stop her. The other members of Fairy Tail are in shock when they see her walk across the beach towards Phantom Lord and all the while wearing Lucy's face. Her friends call out to her to stop, but she ignores them as well. About halfway onto the beach, she throws out her arms and uses her magic to make her voice sound like Lucy.

"You people are looking for me, right? Stop your attack on the guild this instant!" she screams out for José to hear. Many of the Fairy Tail members feel their faces growing pale as they realize what Mira is doing. She stands her ground with a grim mask of determined anger, hoping that her ruse will buy the guild time to stop Phantom Lord. The gruff voice of José rolls out over the beach.

"Be gone. You damn imposter!" he shouts out angrily. Shock fills Mira's features. She doesn't understand how he was able to see through her transformation so easily. José grows amused at seeing the dumbfounded looks on the Fairy's faces. "Ha! I knew from the start! I knew Lucy wasn't there. There's no way that the person who was targeted would be sent to the front lines!" he crows out in a gloating tone.

Mira drops her transformation as her spirits fall from the defeat of the only gambit she had to help. The rest of the guild also feels the blow and their morale drops somewhat at the apparent ease that the leader of Phantom Lord has in able to see through their attempt at deception. The young woman stands in the midst of the battle with her eyes downcast, feeling helpless in not being able to do anything for her guild. Cana comes up and wraps an arm around Mira's shoulder as she starts to break down and cry.

"Don't worry. Elfman can fight. Because he's a Fairy Tail wizard, too!" The brunette's words stop Mira's tears and the shorter woman glares up at the Phantom guildhall where her brother is fighting within. Cana goes back to fighting the Shades as some come real close to where she and Mira are standing.

A green glow from a magic circle appears underneath Mira, causing her to gasp out in shock. Suddenly she falls through the circle as if the ground has opened up under her. She let out a cry of panic as Cana screams out Mira's name in fear. The white-haired woman appears a second later within the grasp of the transformed guildhall, caught between the fingers like a bug. She gives out a cry of pain at the pressure the fingers are putting on her.

A now familiar, but hated, voice rolls across the beach, "I detest girls like this who try to deceive me. Witness your friend's final moments as I crush her slowly." Most of the guild can only stand by helplessly as they watch their beloved friend being held captive. They cry out in a mix of anger and fear. Soon, an explosion within the Phantom guild hall catches their attention and startles Mira who was near the blast. As the dust clears she can see her little brother in the rubble of the busted up wall.

"Elfman!" His older sister screams out, trying to catch his attention to find out if he is hurt. Her cry catches his attention and he opens up one eye to see her being held by the Phantom Lord guildhall's hand.

"Elfman!" she screams out again, terrified that he might be badly injured. He pushes himself to flip over on his stomach to look out over the edge of the hole, still feeling dazed from that last attack by Sol.

"What?" he says, trying to make sense of what is going on. After all, shouldn't his older sister be back in their guildhall where it is safer? Concentrating, his mind refocuses and he sees that it wasn't just his imagination. His sister really is being held captive!

"Why? Why are you there?" he shouts out in fear. "Nee-chan!" he screams.

"Oh? So she is your elder sister?" Sol's voice comes out from behind Elfman. "Which means she was once the feared Devil, Mirajane-sama? Lost so much of her magical power… What a pity. And who could be to blame for that? She is being punished for attempting to deceive us." Sol's voice takes on a note of glee. "It won't be long until she is crushed." Gritting her teeth from the crushing pain, Mira looks up to see one of the Element 4 behind the prone form of her little brother.

"Run… Run, Elfman!" she cries out in warning.

"Let my sister go!" Elfman cries out towards Sol and the rest of Phantom Lord in anguish, not wanting to lose his other sister as well.

Moving ever closer to Elfman, Sol says with a note of finality, "You will lose your elder sister right before your eyes, just like the younger. And that is because you're an impotent wizard who does nothing but spouts out bluffs about manliness!" Without warning, a magic circle appears behind Elfman causing him to cry out in pain.

"As a gentleman, I cannot forgive you. I will give you eternal suffering. Sealing Magic, Merci le Vie!" Sol cries out. Elfman's hands go to each side of his head and his cries of pain intensify. Mira can only watch on helplessly as her little brother is tortured.

"You will become one with the land, and continue to wander for eternity inside your own unpleasant memories!" Sol cries out victoriously.

"No!" cries out Elfman in pain and horror before he succumbs to the magic and is dragged into recalling that terrible day.

The day Lisanna died.

Mirajane watches with horror as stone creeps up to encapsulate her brother as he is trapped within his own mind.

"Elfman, hang in there! Wake up!" she screams out, hoping he will hear her voice and break free from the mental torture he is going through.

"Elfman!" As the stone spell spreads, Elfman is forced to watch that terrible day over and over again, unable to change anything.

When he is almost completely turned to stone, Elfman says in a monotone, "Nee-chan. Lisanna…" Unseen by Mira or Sol, tears pour out of the one eye that has yet to be covered by stone. Mira sobs out her little brother's name and by some random bit of luck, he was able to hear her crying out his name through the spell clouding his mind. With great mental strength, he works on throwing off the shackles of the Merci la Vie to come back to his senses and to save his elder sister.

"Elfman, hang in there!" Cries out Mira with less strength than before as the fingers are still slowly crushing her. Reaching out one hand to try to reach her beloved little brother she continues to shout, "I can't… lose you too!" Tears roll down her eyes more from the pain of losing her brother than the pain of being crushed.

"Now, it's about time for the finale!" says Sol triumphantly as his back is turned to the siblings. Fully confident that they are well and truly caught and are about to die.

"Why's that?" Elfman asks still in the monotone voice. Surprised to hear Elfman's voice, Sol turns around while fiddling with his monocle.

"Oh?" he asks, more to himself than to Elfman. The rock that encases the Take Over mage glows brightly with a yellow light.

"I vowed never to see my sister's tears again!" Elfman says with more feeling as he is almost done breaking away from the spell cast on him. The rock that held him down breaks away in the light freeing Elfman once more.

"So what are ya' crying for?!" He asks in a loud shout of his sister as his over protectiveness for her kicks in.

"That light…" Mira murmurs. Realizing what it means, she screams out to her brother, "Don't do it, Elfman! You can't!"

"Who was it that made her cry!?" Elfman roars out in anger.

Stunned, Sol cries out in disbelief, "It's impossible! You are not capable of doing a Full-Body Take Over!" He gets blown back by the force of Elfman's magic as the magic circle for a Full-Body Take Over appears just before it covers Elfman's body to transform it.

"Incredible!" Sol gasps out in awe as he watches from where he landed, still holding onto his monocle. The light fades away and a large dark form rises from the rubble. A deep voice rumbles with a grunt as it looks around. Sol starts shaking in fear as menacing, glowing eyes fixate upon him.

"O-Oh, my! That's…" he stammers out as a primal part of him starts to take over.

"That's… A Full-Body Take Over! Beast Soul!" Mira says to herself, afraid that her brother isn't able to handle it. The dust clears to reveal Elfman in his new form. Over four times the size of what he was before, he is now immense. Red and white fur covers his body, and two large horns grow out of his head. His shirt is now in tatters from the massive size change. Sharp fangs now line his gaping maw as he roars out in anger.

"I-It can't be… This is…" Sol continues to stammer out petrified. "Non! Non! Non!" he cries out in fear. He tries a desperate attempt to salvage the rapidly deteriorating situation.

"With non of three, you misunderstand me! I, Monsieur, gave you such a harsh trial for you to finally overcome your difficult past, bonsoir!" In his attempt to try to trick Elfman, he has become very animated in his movements. "You are indeed a Man among men, Elfman! I, Monsieur, believed you could overcome it! Right?" gushes out Sol with fake sincerity. Elfman tilts his head with a grunt at the strange man's antics.

"Well then, if you'll be excusing me…" Sol says while taking a large step backward. In response, Elfman leans forward and punches Sol into the air with one of his long arms. "How dare you!" Sol cries out indignantly as he flies up high. With a graceful twirl, Sol recovers while still in mid-air and sends off an attack towards Elfman.

"Plâtre… Sonate!" he shouts out and an even larger fist, many times larger than the first one, shoots out towards Elfman. It hits him square in the chest.

"Non, non, non… Don't let your guard down now." Sol chides in a victorious manner. A large thump sounds behind him, causing the Element 4 mage to freeze in fear again. Elfman lets out a breath in a hiss as he stands over Sol with one fist raised up.

"Non! Non! Non!" the green haired man cries out as he is hit by the punch that destroys almost the entire floor. Elfman continues to punch the mage, and each one makes Sol cry out in pain. Mirajane looks on at the spectacle, hoping beyond hope that her brother is in control, and not the beast within.

"Elfman," she calls out helplessly. Elfman stops as if he heard her letting Sol pass out from the beating that he was given.

"Oooh… Oui…" is the last thing he says as he slips into unconsciousness. A pale purple, misty form seemingly coming out of Sol tries to float away while saying, "Je t'aime…" Elfman grabs it and shoves it back into Sol. The process wakes him back up and he lets out a cry of fear. Elfman grabs a hold of him in one large hand while Sol protests loudly.

"Noo! At least let me fall unconscious!" he begs of Elfman. Ignoring his pleas, Elfman continues to beat up the mage that has tried to kill him only moments ago.

Worried that her brother may be losing control, Mira calls out, "Elfman!" to try to get his attention. The pale purple form of Sol tries to escape and lets out a faint goodbye as Elfman's attention has now shifted. Moving quickly, Elfman rushes outside and hurries towards his sister as his form shrinks. She doesn't notice that the pale yellow glow in Elfman's eyes has faded away so his gaze is now clear.

fearing that the beast has taken over, she cautiously asks, "So…Can you…" Hopping around as a fast pace, Elfman comes closer and closer to Mira without saying anything and her worry and fear rise. "...hear my voice?" she finishes weakly. A large clang of claws on metal sounds as Elfman lands next to his older sister. He growls as he looks at her.

"Could you have lost your reason again?" she asks, afraid for her brother and for herself. "Elfman!" she calls out, hoping to reach him within the beast. With a quick movement, Elfman lunges forward which causes Mira to flinch. A strong shove and the crushing sensation is replaced by the feeling of a strong arm wrapped around her body. Looking up in shock, she stares at her brother's face feeling speechless.

"I'm sorry nee-chan… You must never have wanted to see me like this again. Because I wasn't able to control it, Lisanna…" Elfman says gruffly in a sad voice. He pulls her away from the edge of the fingers so she can stand upright before enveloping his sister in a hug.

When her voice returns, she says in quiet shock, "You still have your reason!"

"But I didn't know what else to do." Elfman continues, still upset. "I had to get stronger to protect you and Fairy Tail!" He ends with conviction, waiting to hear his sister pass her judgment.

She smiles softly up at her little brother before saying, "Lisanna's death wasn't your fault. You were trying your best to protect us both back then." At her kind words, Elfman releases his magic to return back to normal.

"But I failed." he retorts sadly, looking downcast as the guilt returns. "Lisanna died." he continues. A soft look enters Mira's eyes and she goes to lean against her brother in a hug.

"But I'm still here." she replies warmly.

"Nee-chan…" Elfman says while feeling a mixture of emotions. Hate, rage, guilt, grief, fear, love, kindness, warmth all swirling within him like a maelstrom.

"We decided together, remember? To live in her stead. To work as hard as we could…" The white-haired woman says warmly, encouragingly to help her brother through his troubling emotions. At hearing her words, his love for his sister grew and all the other negative feelings faded away. His eyes closed as he struggled not to cry. His efforts fail as tears leak out from his eyes.

Elfman throws back his head and yells, "Nee-chan! I'm so glad you're alright!" before he starts to sob loudly. With her hands on her hips, Mira looks on at her crying brother with amused exasperation.

"And how is crying going to help anything?" she asks.

"But!" he cries out in protest, unable to say anything else due to the grief that he suffered through again due to Sol merciless attack to his memories. His sister looks up at him with her eyes full of love.

"Thank you, Elfman…" she says before her attention is pulled away.

"What is it nee-chan?" Elfman manages to say as he calms down from his emotional outburst.

"The giant isn't writing as quickly…" she says thoughtfully. They both turn to face the ever growing magic circle for Abyss Break. Indeed the arm that is making the circle has slowed down. Mira starts to mumble to herself as she tries to puzzle out why the arm has slowed down.

"The forbidden magic of the four elements… Abyss Break… The four elements. Fire, water, wind, and earth." She gasps as she makes a connection. Turning to face her brother, she asks seriously, "Elfman, how many of the Element 4 are left?" Surprised by her question, he looks off to the side as he thinks it over.

"Hmm, um… That'd make two left, I guess?" he replies.

"As I thought!" she responds quickly. "Each time we get one of them, the giant's movements slow down!" she explains.

"Why is that?" Elfman asks, not knowing what she has been thinking about.

"In other words, this giant is powered by the four elements. If we can defeat all of the Element 4, we can stop the magic!" she tells her brother. At hearing this, he perks up.

"Really?" he asks excitedly.

"Hurry! The remaining two should be somewhere inside the giant!" Mira exclaims, trying to get her brother to quickly find the others.

"R-Right!" he stutters, before turning to run back into the transformed guildhall. His sister follows close behind to help search.

* * *

Unbeknownst to the two siblings, all of their family on the beach lets out a collective sigh of relief once they find out Mira is safe. Erza has woken up during Krysti's screams and sobs after the guild's model was taken. The two has been holding onto each other, comforting one another until cheering could be heard from the beach. Almost as one, they moved off of the table Erza was on and headed just a little ways out of the guildhall, each helping hold up the other.

"Rondo! What's going on?" Erza shouts out to a nearby guild member who has been fighting with a magic bo-staff. The named person whips his head around and a large smile grows on his face.

"Erza! You're awake!" His shouts catch the attention of the rest of the guild, and they start to cheer that both injured members are awake and moving. Cana runs over and almost knocks them both over in her rush to hug them.

"Erza! I'm so glad you're awake!" Steadying themselves, Erza then proceeds to hug her long-time friend back.

"Yes, I am too. What happened that caused everyone to cheer earlier?" she says in her not-quite demanding tone that is typical of Erza.

"Mira has been rescued by Elfman," Cana tells the two excitedly. A smile grows on the face of the redhead. Seeing the happy looks at the mention of the sibling's names, Krysti realizes that they must be ok and she too starts to smile as relief floods through her. All three of them share a group hug out of joy.

"Also…" Cana pauses as she gives them a gleeful look, "Elfman did it in a Full-Body Take Over."

Erza's eyes almost pop out of her head. "Are you sure, Cana?" the scarlet-haired woman asks in a much more serious tone while Krysti looks on confused. The bikini top clad woman nods her head.

"Saw it with my own eyes. He finally, truly moved on." Erza lets out a large sigh of relief and a small smile graces her features.

"I'm so happy for them both. Now if only Mira can move on as well…" she trails off. Cana nods in agreement. Krysti just stands there biting her lip and just bursting with curiosity. A couple of Shades flies in planning on attacking the distracted group of girls. Before they could hit, two fists made of smoke rushes in and destroys them. Krysti lets out a squeal of surprise while Cana and Erza just look startled.

"You girls might want to plan to have your discussions later, maybe when we aren't getting attacked?" Wakaba scolds. Cana nods her head in agreement before pointing back towards the guildhall.

"Erza, Krysti. You two both get back in the guildhall where it's safe. You are too injured to fight. You'll get in the way more than help as you are." Krysti nods, understanding what Cana means by her body language and tone and starts to move back to the guildhall with Erza in tow. She gets jerked back as Erza doesn't move.

"Cana, I can fight now. I'm fine." States the redhead stubbornly. Cana glares at her.

"No, you are not! Between you and Krysti, I can't tell who looks more like a mummy!" her eyes softens as she places her hands on Erza's shoulders. "We don't want you to get hurt any more than you are. You won't be any use if you go and get yourself killed when you're not strong enough to fight. Just knowing you're awake has already boosted our morale. We will be fine out here while Gray, Natsu, and Elfman are fighting in the giant. Now go and rest." Erza stares into Cana's eyes for a moment more and Krysti slightly tugs on her to encourage her to go back inside.

"Come on, Erza. The more we rest now, the faster we can recover our strength and help fight." Krysti says gently. Erza quickly looks over at the older brunette, realizing that her translator is gone again. Krysti gently tugs on Erza's arm again and reluctantly she allows Krysti to help her get back inside to rest.

* * *

After Elfman's battle with Sol, Natsu and Happy are still making their way up high into the guildhall giant without finding any Phantom mages to fight. As they enter a gargoyle lined hall, a thought occurs to Natsu and he decides to share it with Happy to get his opinion as well.

"I just thought of something good, Happy!" He crows with a wide grin. The blue cat flies down to get closer to Natsu so they can talk easier.

"What?" he asks with a hopeful smile on his face.

With an uncharacteristically giddy smile on his face, Natsu turns to look at Happy as he states proudly, "If we beat up José , then that'd end the fight, right?" Shocked by that announcement, Happy forgot to fly and fell to the floor. He jumps back up into the air and faces Natsu as the dragon slayer keeps running down the hall.

"What are you saying?" Happy asks angrily. "José is just as powerful as our own master! Someone like you could never beat him, Natsu!" Happy continues in a scolding tone. At hearing this, Natsu gets sullen and pouts.

"But Gramps isn't here, so who else is gonna?" he asks, still pouting that his best friend doesn't like his idea. Natsu's words strike deep into the cat's heart and a wave of gloom washes over him.

"Natsu, you idiot!" he says in great despair. Hearing the sadness in Happy's voice causes Natsu to stop running in surprise. "I was trying not to think about it, but you made me remember!" Happy accuses him angrily.

"Wha?" Natsu shouts back, feeling defensive. Happy floats in front of the dragon slayer, eyes closed and his whole body drooping forward as his depression grows.

"That's right… Master is gone… Erza is gone… No matter what will happens in this war, in the end, José will…" He is cut off as Natsu reaches up and put an encouraging hand on top of Happy's head. Caught off guard, Happy lets out a small gasp as he opens his eyes wide to see Natsu grinning up at him with that devil-may-care grin of his. The one that inspires hope in all who see it.

"I'm here, aren't I?" Natsu asks, completely confident in himself. Happy looks at him, not knowing what to think. Natsu then closes his eyes while grinning wider. "Right?" he asks of Happy.

His confidence restored thanks to Natsu, Happy shouts out a joyful, "Aye!" and as one the two friends start to hurry back down the hallways looking for the power source of the giant. Happy turns his head to look at the running figure of his best friend and wonders what is it about Natsu that can give someone so much hope for the future no matter how dire the situation.

They soon enter a large room with a fancy red rug blanketing almost the entire floor. Bronze-looking pillars with green orbs on the top line the sides of the carpet creating a path through the room.

Partway into the room, a sudden blast of air streaks up from behind to knock away the two Fairy Tail members. So completely caught off guard, Natsu falls over backward and lands on the back of his neck, legs high in the air. Annoyed, he flips up to a sitting position as a voice calls out from a whirlwind that has appeared in the room.

"The sorrow!" it cries out. The whirlwind dissipates to reveal a large figure cloaked in green and wearing a green top hat. The cloak flaps in a wind not felt by the other two. With his head bowed and body hunched over somewhat, the man continues to speak sadly, "The wings of flame, clipped… Falling to the ground…" the mysterious man starts to stand up straight as he speaks. "Ah, and all that's left is the corpse of a dragon!"

Getting mad, Natsu stands up with a fist upraised planning on beating up the guy in front of him.

"Natsu, he's one of the Element 4!" Happy warns worriedly. The man in green lifts his head to reveal that his eyes are covered in bandages and that he is crying excessively.

"My name is Aria!" he sobs out. He raises a hand in the air by his head with his thumb across his palm and the other four fingers sticking straight up in the air. "I am the top of the Element 4! And I have come to hunt me a dragon!" he proclaims sadly, still crying.

Clenching a fist to his side, Natsu irritably says more to himself than to anyone else, "A wind wizard? I'm already used to you guys." All the while Happy looks on, frightened by the almost impossibly large man.

"Erigor's nothing compared to him!" Happy warns, hoping Natsu will listen.

Natsu stares at his opponent with a wild grin, shifting his stance he bends over slightly before asks, "That just means that this guy is strong, right?"

"Of course, he is!" Happy yells out at his friend, realizing too late that is what Natsu wanted to hear.

"Good." is all Natsu says before he launches himself at Aria. Lighting a fist on fire, he goes in for a punch while yelling, "Fire Dragon's Iron Fist!" With a flick of the wrist, Aria sends a gust of wind strong enough to send Natsu flying hard into the floor. With a quick flip, Natsu is back up and charging yet again, this time with his breath attack. Again, Aria knocks Natsu back with ease and the flames fade out before even coming close to him. Ticked off, Natsu rushes headlong in, again and again, constantly getting knocked back as the man in green continues to cry.

"Natsu! That isn't going to work!" Happy shouts out from behind Natsu. The blue cat looking extremely worried for his friend and not sure if Natsu can even beat Aria. From the looks of how easily he was knocking Natsu away, it didn't look good. After a particularly hard crash into the ground that left a dent, Natsu gets back up and stands there catching his breath as he figures out a plan. He raises a hand to rub at his cheek after landing on it from that last crash.

"You do well to remain standing. Impressive." Aria praises, no longer crying. That comment fans the flames of Natsu's anger and causes him to rush in again with a trail of fire leaving from his fist.

"Damn you…" he growls out during his charge. Happy stays behind, ready to help Natsu when he needs it and also trying to figure out how Aria is so powerful. He never saw such a one-sided fight with Natsu on the losing side, and this causes him to worry even more.

"But in the face of my "Airspace" magic, you are powerless!" continues Aria in a booming voice as if Natsu didn't interrupt him. The wind wizard shifts into a stance to attack.

"What the hell is Airspace magic?" asks Natsu as he cocks back a fist to attack. About 5 feet away from his enemy, Natsu suddenly crashes into something very solid, yet there is no wall that he can see. The force of his crash causes him to bounce backward and the fire on his fist to go out again. Already tired from his earlier battle with Totomaru, Natsu lands on his back instead of flipping before landing. Happy leans forward, almost summoning his wings to get to Natsu, but he holds back. He knows that he has only one shot to get Natsu away from the fight and he has to wait until the time is right.

"Invisible magic! What should we do?" Happy asks out loud to himself. As Natsu's body goes to make the second bounce, he recovers to flip and land on one knee. This catches Aria's attention.

"You can still stand, Salamander?" he questions, slightly impressed with the Fire Dragon Slayer's stamina and will to fight.

"I can't be defeated here." Natsu states as he stands back up again before loudly declaring, "Because I'm a Fairy Tail Wizard!" Natsu then takes a wide stance before yelling, "Now I'm fired up, you bastard!"

"Natsu…" Happy calls out, frightened by the possibility that Natsu may not be able to win this fight.

Aria decides to attack instead of defending as he calls out calmly, "Airspace… Suppress!" Faster than thought possible, a multitude of explosions appears around Natsu with most of them hitting him. He yells in pain while being knocked backward from the force of the blows, and more continue to hit as he is forced back. Making a recovery, he digs his fingers and sandaled feet into the rug to slow himself down.

Happy knows that Aria is too strong for Natsu to fight as he is the strongest of the Element 4, but he also knows that nothing he can say will stop Natsu from fighting until he can't fight anymore.

"Damn it…" Natsu mutters to himself as he gets back up for another try.

"There's always someone better, young dragon…" Aria calls out with sage advice.

Natsu then takes his two fists and pounds them together for a different attack as he growls out, "Then how about this? Roar of the Fire Dragon!" He tries to use his flame breath attack again, hoping this one will go through. At first, it seems to hit until just at the last moment, Aria disappears.

Happy cries out in warning, "He disappeared!" Hoping Natsu hears him if he didn't see Aria vanish. Surprised, Natsu starts looking around to see where the enormous man has gotten too.

"Where'd he go?" he asks no one in particular. Aria's voice booms out throughout the room, making it hard to tell where he is at.

"This is over, Salamander. Let me give you the same suffering I gave to Makarov…" At the end of those words, Aria appears behind Natsu just as he had with Master Makarov back in Oaktown. Noticing too late, Natsu can only turn to look as the massive sized Phantom Lord mage starts to cast the magic draining spell.

"Airspace… Ruin!" Aria says loudly.

The golden glow from the spell engulfs Natsu and he starts to yell in pain as his magic is sucked out of his body.

Tears start spilling from underneath Aria's face bandages as he sobs out, "The sadness! No matter the wizard, inside this airspace their magical power will empty!"

"My power… it's being sucked out…" is all Natsu can manage to say between his cries of pain. Happy stands there grief-stricken, knowing that if he tries to fly in now his magic will get drained as well leaving them both powerless. He can only really save Natsu after he has been drained of his magic. And that fact tears him up inside, wishing there was something more he could do to help.

"Natsu!" screams Happy, powerless to do more.

"Damn it all…" Natsu croaks out as his skin starts turning green.

* * *

During Elfman's battle, but before Natsu's, Gray makes his way outside of the guildhall giant through a busted skylight just after it starts to rain.

"Was it raining before?" Gray asks himself, confused about the weather as he stares into the leaden sky.

"Drip, drip, drop." calls out a feminine voice from behind Gray. He turns to look to see a figure slowly making its way out of a cloud of fog.

When she can be seen clearly, she continues in a monotone voice, "Yes… Juvia is the rain woman, one of the Element 4. Drip, drip, drop." All the while still walking forward with a pink-hearted umbrella over her head. By now Gray has pulled himself up out of the skylight and faces Juvia with a hard expression on his face. The rain is getting him soaked, but he ignores that in favor of studying the enemy in front of him.

"You're one of the Element 4?" He asks of her, making sure he has heard her correctly.

With a blank expression on her face, she states, "I would never have thought that two of the elements would have been defeated." Her head lowers slightly, as her voice and expression harden slightly. "But do not underestimate Juvia and Aria." she declares. Remembering Lucy's story, he realizes that this is one of the mages responsible for not only kidnapping Lucy but almost killing Krysti as well. The glare Gray sends her way could freeze fire, whether or not he is an ice mage.

"Sorry to break it to you, but I don't go easy on people who hurt my friends. Even if they're women or children…" he says in a deadly cool voice. They stare intensely at each other, both determined to fight for their guilds. Gray moves a small bit to get into a better-attacking position. Without easing up on her glare, two small patches of pink appear on Juvia's cheeks, unnoticed by the man.

She awkwardly turns her back to Gray and stutters out, "R-Really?" in a voice that is losing its monotone. She starts to walk away, slightly faster than before as she calls out, "Juvia gives up then! Goodbye!" Confused at first at her move of turning her back on him, now he is completely dumbfounded. His jaw drops in shock and his eyes widen to the point that they seem to be popping out of his head.

It takes him a couple of seconds to find his voice, "Whoa there! What the heck?" he shouts out at her still completely flabbergasted at the turn of events. Juvia, on the other hand, has her hand over her heart as she is being bombarded by emotions she has never had before. Warm, fuzzy feelings grow inside her, bringing life to her otherwise cold, empty soul. She is dismayed at how rapidly the changes are taking place within her.

"What is wrong with Juvia?" she asks of herself, as her blush grows stronger. "Why is my heart beating like this?" From behind her, Gray is able to shake off his confusion and starts to run after the blue-haired woman.

"Wait, you! Stop the giant!" he yells out harshly, trying to catch her attention. As the new emotions run rampant within her, one thing starts to become clear to her.

She wants this man.

No.

She _needs_ this man.

She needs him more than she has ever needed anything in her life. She turns to look again at the person who has invoked such powerful feelings within her soul.

"Juvia wants to make him her's," she says to herself as she makes the decision final. "Juvia can no longer hold back!" she declares to herself, never having the need to restrain herself before and not knowing how to now.

She put out a hand towards Gray as he is still running towards her and with a passionate cry of, "Water Lock!" she captures Gray in the same bubble of water that she used to catch Lucy. Caught off guard, Gray isn't able to dodge the attack. As the water surrounds him, it aggravates the injuries that he sustained from Galuna Island and the raid against Phantom Lord This causes Gray to lose some of the air that he had left in his lungs. Just now realizing that he is hurt, Juvia becomes very distressed.

"Oh no! He's injured! Whatever shall I do?" she cries out, unsure how to proceed to help the man that she wants to claim as hers. "I must release him quick, or…" she worriedly says to herself as she starts waving her arm around rapidly from her fear. A bluish glow suddenly appears within the sphere of water as Gray growls. The water almost instantly turns into ice and shatters. Gray lets out a yell as he frees himself from the water now turned ice. Juvia stares at him in awe as her blush increases.

"He escaped from Juvia's Water Lock using his own power?" she quietly asks of herself with wide eyes. Her feelings for Gray grows even more. "This is the power of an ice wizard… Exquisite!" Her heart starts beating even more rapidly as she stares longingly at the Fairy Tail wizard in front of her. She grows warmer and electric tingles spread throughout her body like never before. Juvia was falling into love.

Fast and _hard_.

In her mind, an image cropped up of her standing in front of Gray, him holding gently onto one of her hands while the other is lovingly caressing her shoulder. They were staring deep into each other's eyes. Eyes that are full of love and happiness. _Water and ice…_ _it's like we're bound by fate! I've finally found you, Juvia's Prince!_ were her thoughts. While in the real world, the real Gray was down on one knee, holding onto his wounded side as he was recovering from the Water Lock.

"Trying for a surprise attack, you bastard!" he spits out angrily towards Juvia. His rage towards the entirety of Phantom Lord increasing drastically. Blissfully unaware of his ire, Juvia is still lost in her fantasy about her and Gray. In an attempt to feel more comfortable, he painfully pulls off his shirt while being unaware what is happening to Juvia. If he had any idea, he would probably put more clothes on.

"Ouch!" he cries out as a particularly painful twinge occurs. Juvia's face grow hot and she grows almost ecstatic at seeing him taking off his shirt.

"Why is he stripping?" she squeals to herself as she spins from the sheer joy at seeing the one she loves without a shirt on. Due to her watery nature, literal steam shoots out of her ears from how hot she is feeling. Unknowing of how real romance works, she takes it completely the wrong way, unfortunately for the ice mage.

"I-I-I think we should take things more slowly…" Juvia manages to say, falsely believing that he feels the same way towards her and wants to start doing romantic things with her. Her entire face now is pink from the blush and her heart is beating wildly in her chest.

Completely clueless of what she said or her emotional state, Gray says commandingly, "I don't want to frighten a woman, but you'd better surrender immediately." He begins to shift into an attack stance, determined to pay back this woman for all the trouble she caused his friends. "Otherwise, you're going to get hurt!" he finishes telling Juvia just as his hands start to glow from his magic.

"Ice Make Lance!" he shouts out as he shoots out dozens of ice spears towards the lovesick water mage. Without moving, almost all of the spears hit and go through Juvia which completely surprises Gray as he expected her to dodge or at least block. Worry is coupled with the surprise as he believes at first that he might have killed her as chunks of Juvia is missing.

He wanted payback, not to kill the rival mage! Only as she starts to speak is when he notices the areas of her body around where his attack landed were just water. Juvia speaks calmly to Gray a moment later as if he didn't attack her at all.

"Juvia's body is made of water," she explains, which causes Gray's worry that he might have killed her to be replaced with worry on how to defeat her. His attack did more than he realized. It helped calm down her raging emotions and literally cool her off.

"Yes… drip, drip, drop…" she says in a much calmer tone that is close to her normal monotone that she had before meeting Gray. He gasps as she is able to effortlessly reform back to normal. She looks down in despair as his attack helped her refocus on the situation.

"That's right… He's an enemy. Torn apart by strife, that is their tearful fate!" she says softly to herself. Her determination strengthens as she looks up to give Gray a passionate stare. "But Juvia will not lose heart!" she says loudly to herself. "Farewell, my small blossom of love!" she tells Gray as she lifts her palm to face him before attacking.

"Water Slicer!" she cries out as her magic activates. Thin, crescent-shaped blades of water shoot out towards Gray. He dodges the attack and looks back to see the water slice through solid rock in a powerful attack.

"High-powered water jets can even cut through steel," she explains for her love's benefit. "Underestimate water, and you will regret it," she warns. With a quick turn and a shout, Gray sends out another attack towards Juvia.

"Ice Make Battle Axe!" he shouts. The attack cuts right through her again without harming her at all. Gray might as well be attacking a lake, all the good his attacks are doing against her.

Confidently, in a hard voice that is now filled with emotions, she tells him, "Try again and again, but nothing will change. Against Juvia, physical attacks are ineffective. Yes… Drip, drip, drop…"

Gray glares at her, wracking his brains to try to find a way to win. "She's a tough one…" he admits to himself. Trying to squash the feelings that are within her, Juvia continues to talk in her new calm tone.

"You cannot defeat Juvia." She decides to try to plead with her newfound love to give up so he will no longer get hurt. "You still have a chance to save yourself. Bring me Lucy Heartfilia, please. If you do, I will ask my master to withdraw." At hearing this, Gray gets really offended that this Phantom Lord mage would think that he would ever possibly hand over one of his family members just to save himself.

"Hey, don't give me that crap," he says coldly much to Juvia's surprise. "We're both already way past the point of retreating." As he talks his voice grows colder and harsher. "You almost killed my friend and Lucy is our ally! I'll give up my life before handing her over to you!" he says loudly with firm, unshakable resolve.

The shock of hearing words come out of Gray's mouth that sound so much like the words of love causes her to drop her umbrella. _Give up his life?_ Juvia feels like she is adrift in space floating away to be lost forever as those words echo in her mind. But one thought leaps out into her mind and she grabs at it like a person clutching at straws to keep from drowning.

_ A love rival!_ _How dare Lucy Heartfilia capture the heart of the man Juvia loves!_ _Juvia must prove herself worthy of the love she so desperately craves. Juvia must kill Lucy Heartfilia. _An anger surges through Juvia that she has not felt before. All the years of pain and torment rise to the surface, fueling new newfound hate and jealously. Juvia, never knowing love or affection has confused loyalty and family bonds to be the same as romantic love.

She screams out in pain as she clutches her head as the hatred and jealousy wreak havoc throughout her mind. Shocked yet again at her actions, Gray yelps as concern for her grows. The way she is screaming and clutching at her head, it seems like Juvia is being tortured.

Only if Gray knew how right he was.

"What pain!" Juvia sobs out as her thrashing stops. "What harsh fate! My heart… My heart feels like it's going to rend asunder!" she tearfully cries out. She starts to jerk her body from side to side as the pain in Juvia's heart swells. "It hurts!" she sobs out again.

"What's the matter? Are you ill?" Gray calls out with great concern, his natural kindness allowing him to forget for a moment that she is the enemy. At hearing his voice, Juvia calms down and straightens up from where she has been hunched over. A terrifying expression crosses her face as she looks at the person who caused her such great pain. To give the absolute wonderful feeling of being truly in love when she has never been in love for real before, only to have it ripped away by betrayal as her love claims to be so in love with someone else that he is willing to give up his life for her.

Unrelenting fury takes a hold as she mutters, "Juvia will not forgive." Her magic starts leaking out of her body in pure white light, almost akin to lightning. "Lucy shall not be forgiven!" she shouts out in righteous fury.

Gray just stands there watching Juvia turn into a full on psycho. Slack-jawed and confused beyond belief, he has no idea why this woman all of the sudden has it out for Lucy. Without warning, a high-powered jet of water crashes into Gray. And it's hot.

Boiling hot.

The intense heat against his cold body makes it feel even hotter than it is. Thanks though to his constant battles with Natsu, it doesn't bother him as much as it would have any other ice mage. Not like he would ever admit anything like that to the flame-brain. The water subsides and steam is coming off of his body.

"Ouch!" he manages to get out through his gritted teeth. "Boiling water? And why are you mad at Lucy?" he asks, confused with her actions and attacks. Juvia, on the other hand, is still held tightly in the grip of her anger and jealousy. Above all else she must defeat the man she loves so she can kill Lucy Heartfilia, the _**Love Rival**_, to prove to her beloved that she is the only one for him.

That is going through her mind like a mantra. She is not going to let anyone stop her, not even her beloved. Bringing her arms together, another jet of boiling water fueled by her anger shoots out towards Gray. Sensing her attack, he immediately goes on the defensive.

"Ice Make…" is all he can say before the water has reached him. Barely dodging, he flips and jumps out of the way as the extremely fast water jet rushes at him like a snake.

"It's fast!" he shouts out in disbelief. "My Creation Magic can't keep up!" After another dodge, he slips on the wet stone and slides towards the edge. Almost falling off, he is able to regain his balance in time to avoid a nasty plunge.

Looking down where he almost fell he says worriedly, "That was close…" Getting a better handle of her raging jealousy to focus her magic better, she slowly walks towards Gray. She thinks that perhaps telling him a bit of her life will open his eyes to see her and renounce the love he holds for Love Rival and then love Juvia and only Juvia.

"Ever since Juvia was born, she's lived within the rain." Surprised, Gray turns quickly to watch her approach. "In the rain, there is no one who can defeat Juvia!" She stops walking and raises a hand high into the air. A magic circle appears as she calls out loudly, "Be boiled inside Juvia's jealousy!" Above the circle, a demonic face appears in the water spout that she has created. The face crumples inward and turns into short burst water jets.

"What?" Gray asks, unsure of where this short version of her life's story came from, as he quickly hops backward to avoid the boiling water. When one of the jets goes up higher than the others, he takes his time to use his magic.

"Ice Make Shield!" he shouts as a literal shield of ice forms on his arm to protect him from the boiling water. The shield quickly melts under the intense heat of the water. "What incredible heat! I can't stand it!" Gray declares as he tries to figure out a way to counterattack.

"I told you already!" Juvia cries out angrily. "Inside the rain is Juvia's world! No one can defeat Juvia!" A sudden explosion of steam startles Juvia, causing her to break off her attack. As it clears, Gray cannot be found but a broken skylight suggests where he might have gone. She stares at the window, expressionless as she walks slowly towards it.

"He used the steam as a smoke screen? He's not just a pretty face, he's smart, too," she says to herself in an admiring tone. Her hand goes up to her blushing face and her expressionless mask falls to show the love that she is harboring for Gray. "So amazing…" Juvia whispers, her voice full of quiet passion for the ice mage.

As Juvia is letting her passionate love for Gray cloud her judgment, the focus of her amorous longings is running in the building just underneath. Sensing that he isn't being pursued, the usually cool-headed guy contemplates on taking a break to recover and make a plan of attack. He looks out another window and sees the giant's moving arm.

He growls to himself, "I don't have time to take a break! I've got to stop that magic quick!" he runs for a few more steps when his fighting instinct kicks in and causes him to stop just as a rush of water breaks through one of the skylights above and in front of rushing water rises up to become a wall of water that fills up the entire hallway. With great speed, it throws itself at Gray and engulfs him as it pushes him back.

"That's hot! My skin is burning!" he shouts out in surprise, forgetting that Juvia is attacking him now with boiling water. Juvia's attack bursts through another skylight that is near her and carries Gray along with it. As quickly as it appeared, it fades away leaving Gray high up in the air.

"This is the end for you!" Juvia shouts out as she sends another blast of water towards the man she claims to be in love with. Getting angrier over the situation and pressed for time, Gray flips in midair to face the attack and blocks it with both his hands.

"Why you…" he almost snarls out at Juvia.

"He flew straight into the boiling water!" Juvia says in dismay as she continues the attack.

"Freeze!" Gray yells as he activates his magic to overcome the temperature of the boiling water and to cause it to be frozen in place while he continues to fall to the ground. As he is close to landing, the ice starts to form around Juvia's feet and quickly crawls up her body.

"B-But…Juvia's boiling water was frozen?" is all she is able to worriedly say before becoming effectively trapped within a block of ice. Gray has the whole area around Juvia to become solid ice, but he doesn't freeze her. Knowing his hand will be in the ice along with her, Gray aims to let his hand fall in front of her as he hits the ground. Closing his eyes before landing, he takes a deep breath to help calm his anger somewhat before he opens them.

Without realizing it, Gray made a slight miscalculation in where his hand was going to end up. The sight that meets his eyes shocks him to the very core. There in front of him was a pretty woman encased in his ice, and his hand roughly holding onto one of her breasts. Not being a pervert despite his unfortunate habit of taking off his clothes due to his childhood training, Gray is immediately mortified at what he is doing. While on the other hand, Juvia is positively ecstatic.

Here was the man that is her true love and soul mate for eternity making a bold move to show his true affections. By grabbing onto her breast, she becomes more convinced than ever before that she and Gray were meant to be together forever and ever. Her amorous emotions are rekindled by what she believes to be a physical declaration of love.

Not realizing that she is enjoying the contact and would rather him continue what he is doing, Gray becomes frantic is trying to let her know that he is in fact _not_ a pervert or a molester no matter what Natsu says.

"That's not…it's not…" Gray stumbles over his words as he quickly tries to explain that he didn't mean to grab her _there_.

For Juvia, despite how much in love she is, it feels a bit too soon for _that_ particular kind of love and so feels fairly embarrassed at Gray's supposed eagerness to prove his undying devotion towards her. _Juvia is so embarrassed. Like this, forever, inside your ice… _

She thinks that before beginning to fantasize about her and him trapped together forever in a block of ice while sharing a loving embrace. Her face shows her slight discomfit at the speed that their relationship is going at. Gray though sees it as she is uncomfortable and humiliated and many other things that he never wanted to beassociated with him.

He cries out, "Sorry!" before jumping away from the pillar of ice that he has made and effectively freeing his hand from the ice and Juvia. Many thoughts and feelings are warring within Gray, guilt and embarrassment being chief amongst them. As he stands there awkwardly, his magic dissipates and releases Juvia from its hold.

Suddenly free, she falls down to her knees with a small cough as she can now breathe again. Disbelief is written all across her face, she slowly lifts her head up to stare at the man in front of her. _He released me from the ice? Why?_ Knowing that they were fighting and he could have won, she can't understand why he would let her go.

_ He's too kind!_ she thinks, misinterpreting the situation yet again. Her love-filled gaze drinks him his visage as her admiration and respect for him continues to grow. Not paying attention to Juvia's not so subtle hints that she is crushing on him, _hard_, Gray attempts to whitewash that embarrassing incident away.

"Let's start over again!" he says loudly with a grand sweeping gesture, hoping that she would forget about the accidental grope and just start to fight him again.

Juvia gets back up off her knees and says in a soft, sad voice, "No, I can't. Juvia cannot bring herself to harm you…" She isn't able to bring herself to look him in the eyes so she settles for looking at his feet.

Confused again at the sudden change in her demeanor, Gray asks in a much calmer tone, "Huh? So you're admitting you can't win against me?" He is unsure of what she means and hopes he can finally get a clear answer from this strange woman. Juvia, unwilling to bring herself to fight anymore, decides to try to reason with Gray to prove that she is the better choice than the other woman.

"Juvia is stronger than Lucy," she states, still unable to lift to gaze away from her true love's feet. "Juvia will be able to protect you," she explained more, still speaking softly.

"Protect? Me?" Now Gray is confused even more at the direction the Element 4's mind has taken. He has yet to figure out why Juvia is so against Lucy, much less anything else about her or why she has been behaving in such a strange manner. The rain that has been coming down in a gentle downpour intensifies.

Juvia, still not looking directly at Gray, gets a stricken look on her face.

"B-Because… I-I…l-lo…" she stammers out in her soft voice that is steadily getting drowned out by the sound of the pouring rain as it continues to pour down harder. Barely able to hear her, Gray turns around to survey the storm better.

"Sheesh, now the rain has gotten stronger." he complains to himself in a partly annoyed voice.

Perturbed by the fact that she can't seem to openly express her feelings as she wants to, Juvia wails out, "Juvia is frustrated!" While the rain that has been with her throughout her life and connected to her emotions continues to pour down harder.

"Man, this rain is so gloomy…" Gray continues talking to himself, ignoring the woman behind him. Shock fills Juvia's system as Gray's words echoes through her mind. _Gloomy…Gloomy…Gloomy… _Each echo sends a knife of pain into her heart.

She falls to her knees again as the pain of betrayal weighs in heavily throughout her soul. The splash made by her fall catches Gray's attention. He turns around in surprise to see her down on the ground and slumped over again.

"What's the matter?" he calls out to her worriedly. Despite the fact that they are enemies, Gray is a kind-hearted person who is willing to help Juvia if she requires it.

Staring at the ground, Juvia whispers to herself, "He's no different than all the others!" Her voice cracking at the overwhelming sadness now within from the supposed betrayal. Almost instantly, the sadness turns into enraged fury and without realizing it, she is standing again with scalding hot steam flaring out from her body.

"You're all the same!" she roars out, even angrier than when she thought that Gray was in love with Lucy. The abrupt 180° change in her attitude catches Gray off guard once again.

"What?" he asks, again confused at what caused the change within the female Phantom Mage as he leans back in defense. _Juvia has no need for love anymore! _She decides for herself as this has become the last straw. The last treason made against her and her life at trying to be a regular person. An even more powerful jet of boiling water engulfs Gray before he could put his arms up to guard against the attack. He lets out a strangled yell as he is being pushed backward by the force of the water.

Luckily, he able to find his footing again and prepares to freeze the boiling water once more as he pushes his arms in front of him. His magic activates, yet nothing happens. He figures that the water must be even hotter than before if his ice magic can't freeze like he did earlier.

"Love… Who needs love?!" Juvia screams out in pain and grief. The water blast grows in size and strength to go along with her rage and it causes Gray to lose his footing and get carried away. Juvia becomes lost in her memories of grief and loneliness as no one has ever wanted her around due to her rain. Even as a child, she has been unwanted, and sad. The kids would wish she would go away and take her gloomy rain with her.

She would make a little ghost like doll to be her friend since no other kids would want to play with her. The bullies would come and rip Juvia's doll away and smash it into the mud until it was no longer recognizable. This caused her sadness to grow along with the rain. She would make many more of the same doll so at least she could have one friend to stay with her.

While growing up, any relationship she would have would end soon after it started because no one could stand her rain. The same went with any people who were near her as well. They would all call her and/or her rain gloomy, which would make her even more miserable which in turn would strengthen the rain. It was a sad and lonely life for the poor girl connected to the rain.

And now, when she finally found the man who was meant to be with her for the rest of her life, he says the word. The one word that has defined her entire life. _Gloomy_. Her prince charming, her soul mate, her one true love, is nothing more than another person in a long line of people in her life who has never wanted her around. She thought he was different, he seemed so kind, and smart and is devilishly handsome. she thought, this time, it would work.

What hurt more than the sting of his deceitfulness and even the loss of love in her life, was the fact that she has let herself have hope. Hope that she could finally end this cycle of torment and loneliness that is her life. Yet with that one word, Gray has ripped all of that away from her, and for that, she will not forgive him.

"Juvia is nothing but a gloomy rain woman!" she screamed out her pain and loneliness as she continued to attack Gray with all she had. A note of gratitude enters her grief-stricken voice as she continues to scream, "And yet Phantom Lord accepted Juvia for who she is! Juvia is one of the Element 4! A Phantom Wizard!"

Gray was able to make it to the edge of the water blast and gets flipped in the air as he takes a much-needed breath of air. Still furious at the betrayal from the one person she has let herself fall in love with, she turns her entire body into boiling hot water and blasts off to attack him herself.

"I'm not gonna lose!" Gray yells out to her as she is still screaming out her mental anguish as she rushes towards him. Juvia launched herself into the air and sends another blast of scalding water towards Gray. He makes a one-handed ice shield and the force of the blast causes the roof under his feet to crack into pieces.

"Not to Phantom!" he continues to yell. Using his other hand, he punches his shield to send another blast of ice magic into the water to freeze it. With his will to win strengthened, so is his magic and he succeeds in freezing the water. Expecting it, this time, Juvia breaks away the attack just before the ice freezes her again. As she falls, something catches her attention.

"He even froze the rain? What incredible magical power!" she exclaims in disbelief.

Gray then kneels and punches the ground with both hands while yelling in a guttural way, "Ice Geyser!" In response, a massive fountain of ice shoots out of the ground at a stunning rate. The attack hits Juvia, effectively freezing her once again before shattering.

The force of the blow causes her to yell out from physical pain. Unfortunately for her, it was also enough to knock her far enough away from the roof that she would miss it completely and if she didn't hit part of the giant much further below, then Juvia will hit the ocean.

Being out of magic, she can't change into her liquid form and would suffer serious injuries if not die from the fall. She knows she lost the fight as soon as that last attack hit. As she falls, she accepts her fate that soon she may escape from her painful life. _Juvia, like a raindrop, will fall to the ground, and shatter into tiny fragments… A fitting end to an unwanted rain woman… Farewell, my gloomy self… _Her eyes closed as she calmly waited for death to take her.

Without warning, a cold hand grabs tightly onto one of her own and her shoulder cries out in pain from the force of her falling body. Her eyes snap open in shock to see the face of the one person who brought so much joy and so much pain and grief into her life in such a short amount of time.

Gray.

Speechless, she hangs in the air as his tight grip seems to promise to her that he will never let go. As she fell, Gray made a desperate dash off the roof and slid down the slope in hopes of stopping her fall and saving her life. Gray is no killer and won't let anyone die on his watch as long as he is able to. Enemy or not, no one dies.

"Don't let go of my hand!" he barks out at Juvia. "I'm not letting you fall!" With a grunt and straining hard, he is able to pull her up onto the edge of the ledge. Breathing heavily, he helps her to her feet and helps her climb back up the slope to the top of the roof where it is safer. All the while Juvia is quiet, thinking. Emotions swirl through her at a dizzying pace and she struggles to try to make sense of things.

Why did he save her? If it was the other way around, she would of let him fall. So why didn't he? At the top of the roof, he lets her go and she sinks to the ground to lie on her back, letting the lessened rain soak her face. Gray sits next to her in companionable silence, overlooking the ocean. After a few moments, Juvia speaks up.

"Why did you save Juvia?" she questions. Gray was expecting this and answers honestly.

"Beats me," he says with a shrug of his shoulders. "Anyways, get some sleep.," he tells her in a gently chiding voice as he leans an elbow against his raised knee. The question of why did Gray save her continued to go through her mind as she stares at his back. He turns his head over his shoulder to look at her.

"So, finally cooled down?" he asks with a slight grin. Her eyes water up as the love and respect she held for him returns slowly. She almost doesn't want to believe in it again from how painful it was when it was torn from her. Then something amazing happened to Juvia.

She felt happy.

Happy that she didn't die. Happy that despite everything that has happened, here seems to be a person who actually wanted her. Someone who risked his life to make sure she was ok. Someone who might actually not mind if she was around. A bright light from the sky that she has never seen before shines into her eyes. She closes them from the suddenness of it all. Then with one eye, she opens it slightly to see what is causing all the light and sudden warmth upon her face. With a gasp, she opens them both wide.

"Huh?" she questions. For there in the sky was a beautiful bright blue patch that she has never seen before in her entire life. The rain no longer falling, she stares up at the sky in wonder. "The rain has stopped…" she whispers in breathless wonder. This was all new to her. Never has Juvia the rain woman been without rain. The longer she watches, the less of the familiar gray clouds that have always followed her throughout her life there seems to be. The blue patch continues to grow and lighten into fluffy white shapes much higher in the sky.

Raking his finger through his hair as he stares up at the sky, Gray says happily, "Oh, it's finally clearing up."

"These are…clear skies…" Juvia says wonderingly, only hearing about them from other people. "I never saw them before…" she almost whispers to herself as she continues to stare into the beautiful blue sky and the warm sun beaming down at them.

"Really?" Gray asks in surprise as he looks back over his shoulder to stare at her. He sees the look of awe on her face and knows that she isn't making it up. She honestly never saw the sky before. He gives a small laugh as he turns back to look towards the sky again.

"Nice, huh?" he asks of her. "Clear skies are great." he continued to say before giving her time to answer. A flock of birds flies overhead as she looks on, still awed by the beauty. Tears start to well in her eyes at being able to see something so precious.

"Yes… They're beautiful, truly…" she replies with a voice that is starting to get choked up in emotion.

"So, up for round 2?" Gray asks Juvia in a joking manner, knowing that they are both too tired to fight anymore right now. He turns his upper body to face her easier as he asks this with a warm smile on his face. Juvia pulls her gaze down from the sky to look at Gray and her heart stops as a gasp is stuck in her throat. The way the sun lightens up his features, battle-worn or not, to produce a radiant glow where it touches, and how his hair shines so beautifully leaves an image of unearthly beauty to the lovesick woman.

This man, who was able to put happiness in her heart and has given her the greatest gift that she could ever receive, now became almost god-like in her eyes. As her poor mind couldn't handle the situation anymore, Juvia passed out at the sight of his almost supernaturally good looks.

Before her mind went black she decided that she would worship and protect this man, her love, for the rest of her life.


	9. Chapter 9

Previously:

_ "In other words, this giant is powered by the four elements. If we can defeat all of the Element 4, we can stop the magic!" she tells her brother._

_ At hearing this, he perks up. "Really?" he asks excitedly. _

_ "Hurry! The remaining two should be somewhere inside the giant!" Mirajane exclaims, trying to get her brother to quickly find the others._

_ "R-Right!" he stutters, before turning to run back into the transformed guildhall. Mira follows close behind to help search._

_ "My power… it's being sucked out…" is all Natsu can manage to say between his cries of pain. Happy stands there grief-stricken, knowing that if he tries to fly in now his magic will get drained as well leaving them both powerless. He can only really save Natsu after he has been drained of his magic. And that fact tears him up inside, wishing there was something more he could do to help._

_ "Natsu!" screams Happy, powerless to do more. _

_ "Damn it all…" Natsu croaks out as his skin starts turning green._

_ This man, who was able to put happiness in her heart and has given her the greatest gift that she could ever receive, now became almost god-like in her eyes. As her poor mind couldn't handle the situation anymore, Juvia passed out at the sight of his almost supernaturally good looks. Before her mind went black she decided that she would worship and protect this man, her love, for the rest of her life._

* * *

Erza makes it back inside the guildhall, no longer needing or wanting me to help support her. I honestly feel the same way, I would much rather bear the pain of walking on my own than have someone act as a crutch. She stops a few feet in and slowly moves her head from side-to-side as if surveying the damage inside. I take a seat on the table that she was on just moments ago to ease my pain. It wasn't until I was up and moving about that I realize how injured I really am. Thinking back at why I'm injured makes me grow steadily angrier. I grit my teeth and clench my fists. _Those bastards, if I can get my hands on either one of those Phantom wizards, I swear I'm going to make them pay. _

The sound of a wood splintering crash from nearby brings me out of my thoughts and I spin to see Erza's metal-clad hand embedded in one of the tables. _When did she Requip?_ Pushing aside my resentful thoughts, I hurry over towards her to make sure she didn't injure herself further.

"I can't just stand here like some helpless child as the rest of my guild is doing everything they can to fight!" her low tone of anger slows my steps. _Well, looks like she is as angry as I am at those bastards. Really wish I didn't lose the translator. Not knowing what she is saying is so annoying._ Seeming to sense my presence, Erza turns to face me with anger in her eyes.

"I'm going to go help Natsu and the others. I know what you're going to say and it doesn't matter. This is my family and I'm going to do everything I can to help save them. Even if that means I die." I tilt my head in confusion, wishing that I was able to pick up more than Natsu's name.

I stare into her eyes and I can see that whatever she said that she is completely serious about this and will not waver. _I think she wants to fight. _My own anger at my helplessness to protect the people I call family flares up. _I feel the same way she does, I want to fight and to protect them with everything I have. _

My conviction firm, I clasp a hand onto her shoulder and say, "I want to fight with you." After a fleeting moment of confusion crosses her face, it hardens into the confident, no-nonsense expression that is normal of Erza. It seems that she understands my intent if not my words. Not breaking eye contact she nods in agreement and we both share a small smirk.

As one, we turn to face the beach before marching quickly out of the guildhall once more. My body aches with pain, but I push it aside to focus on what may be laying ahead. Soon I hear cries of our guild members calling out to us, pleading something unintelligible. Their pleas went unheeded. As a Shade makes its way towards us, Erza summons a sword and slashes it to pieces without stopping her purposeful stride. Very quickly we reach the edge of the beach and I look up at the massive giant.

"So…. How do we get up in that thing?" I ask of Erza. Without saying a word, she Requips into a black armor with wings that are very reminiscent of a demonic look. I shudder in fear and turn to look away from her as I gather up my courage. _Dammit, why does it have to look like a demon? _She looks at me and out of the corner of my eye, I see a look of understanding on her face. She takes an armored hand and covers my eyes so I can't see anything. I close them and her hand moves away.

"Now what?" Is all I'm able to voice out before a pair of strong arms wrap around my waist and suddenly I'm in the air. My throat closes in fear as the wind blows against my face and I can't touch the ground. My eyes open with the shock and the only sound I was able to make was a small whimper as I see how fast we are approaching the front of the building. Realizing we are about to crash, I shut my eyes again as a small shriek escapes my throat.

_ FUCK!_ I scream out in my mind. A loud crash is accompanied by the pain of my body landing on a hard surface. I feel myself rolling for a while before coming naturally to a stop. I stay where I am, feeling stunned by the quick succession of events. A small groan catches my attention and I open up one eye slightly to see the world wobbling around dizzily.

"What the hell?" I croak out before clearing my throat. Within seconds the world steadied itself and I feel brave enough to open both eyes. Looking around I see a broken window with a trail of broken glass that leads to me. _That's one way to make an entrance…_ I carefully place my hands on the floor and go to push myself to get back on my feet. Pain stabs through me, greater than before.

"I'm going to feel that one in the morning," I comment to myself. Finally standing up on unsteady legs, I turn to see Erza already marching purposely down a hallway. I grumble nonsensical words under my breath to vent out the slight frustration I feel due to the redhead not waiting up for me. With a bit of a lurch and a limp, I follow after her hoping to catch up. After two separate hallways that took much longer than I would have liked to walk down, I started to yell at Erza's back.

"Any chance can you _please_ slow down to let me catch up?!" Feeling more than a bit irritated by now. I can see her figure jerk to a stop and start to turn towards me before she stops again. It almost looks like she tilted her head to listen to something. Just as I'm opening my mouth to ask what is going on, she suddenly takes off like a flash.

I stop in surprise, my jaw flapping uselessly and no sound leaking out of it. Soon my shock changes into full-blown frustration. I growl wordlessly as I start limping along again, faster than before. Determined to catch up and give Erza a piece of my mind.

* * *

Happy covers his eyes with his paws, not wanting to believe that Natsu has lost. A loud meaty thwack catches his attention and he lifts his head to gawk in wonderment. As if sent by the gods, Erza has appeared at the very last second and saved Natsu before the Airspace spell could be completed. His greenish skin turns back to its normally slightly tanned hue.

As Aria is knocked back by a flying kick to his face, he quickly disappears again. Erza lands softly in a crouch and tries to sense where Aria can be before he attacks again.

Happy jumps high into the air while shouting gleefully, "Erza!" He is waving his paws like crazy from pure joy that Erza has rescued Natsu from the same fate as their Master. Natsu is also glad that she saved him before he realizes that Erza, who is heavily injured from defending the guild from Jupiter, is here.

Fighting.

"Hey, is it okay for you to move with that injury?" he calls out in concern. For despite how terrified he is of her anger, she is still a big sister to him and he cares very much about her well being. Erza stands up quickly while turning towards Natsu and Happy with an angry glare on her face. Immediately frightened, Happy and Natsu cling to each other thinking for a moment that they are the ones she is angry with.

"Erza's angry!" Happy shouts out in terror. The wind wizard of Phantom Lord reappears again just a few feet further behind Natsu than where he was when he got kicked.

Ignoring the antics of her guildmates, she asks them in a serious tone, "He's the one who did that to the Master?"

"Erza Scarlet?" Aria asks in surprise. "How sad," he says with a grin that doesn't match his words. "For me to have the head of not only Salamander but Titania as well!" he almost crows gleefully.

Erza's glare hardens as her voice deepens from her anger, but yet stays calm as she states, "So you're the bastard who laid hands on him." Her voice then cracks like a whip, causes the other two Fairy Tail mages to flinch from fear. "He's like a father to us!"

"Erza!" Natsu calls out worriedly. Despite being at the wrong end of Erza's strength before, he knows that Aria is not a pushover in power and she is already weakened from her injuries.

The large man in green starts to chuckle in amusement. "Since I get to actually face Erza then I suppose I have no choice, but to fight seriously!" He says in a happy manner. Those words make Natsu's blood run cold as he stares at Aria in disbelief. The dragon slayer fought against the wind mage with everything he has and here Aria claims that he wasn't even being serious. It is like Natsu was just a warm up exercise for the large man.

Natsu didn't like this feeling of weakness, not one bit. His fists clench in frustration that he couldn't even land a hit on the enemy in front of them. As he spoke, Aria moves his hands up from their attack position and towards his face. With a quick flourish, he takes off the bandages around his eyes. Opening them reveals purple eyes that dilate in size and that gain a strange white X symbol in the middle within a couple of seconds.

"Come, Titania!" Aria taunts. A wind coming from the man blows throughout the hall and disturbs the dust. It swirls around, showing more of where the air currents are going than blocking the Fairy Tail mages' view. The man in a green cloak hunches down as he calls out loudly, "Activate the Airspace of Death, Zero!" As he gathers the power to cast the spell, Aria explains what it will do to them once it hits.

"This Airspace will consume all life within it!" He states proudly before increasing the power output and causing the wind within the hall to become a raging gale. Erza stands like a statue, unfazed by Aria's threat and show of power. Natsu has to brace himself against the wind as it proves much stronger than he expected. He raises one hand to help protect his eyes from the stinging dust while Happy is barely holding onto his scarf to keep from flying away in the wind.

"This isn't good at all!" the little cat cries out in fear.

"Magic that consumes life?" Erza questions in a calm, but hard voice as she summons a sword to her hand. "How? How can you take people's lives so easily?" she asks Aria harshly while pointing her sword at him with an outstretched arm. "You villain!" Erza growls out.

Unperturbed by the questions, Aria exclaims, "Now, let's enjoy this!"

"Erza!" Natsu screams out in fear as Erza charges forward. Her eyes reflect the determination and fury that is within her.

"Can you withstand this Airspace?" Aria asks haughtily as he stands still, waiting for Erza to fall prey to his spell. With a sudden movement and a yellow glow, he activates the life draining magic. Erza ducks her head to avoid getting blinded by the flash of light as she continues in a headlong rush towards the strongest of the Element 4. She swings her sword back with a two-handed grip to prepare to slice anything in front of her.

Letting out a guttural cry of anger, she swings her sword as hard as she can in front of her to cut away at the magic. The pressure of air created by the mighty swing cleaves through the Airspace of Death, allowing her to safely get closer.

Startled beyond anything he has ever felt before, Aria utters a loud, "Impossible!" before continuing with, "She's slicing through the Airspace?!" in dismay. Still using mighty swings, Erza cuts her way through the wind magic to get ever closer to Aria. When in range, Erza jumps high enough through the Airspace to be above Aria's spell. A glow surrounds her as she Requips into a ball gown-like armor with 2 pairs of angelic wings. Two swords are in her hands, crossed at the blades.

Bringing both swords back until her arms are crossed at the elbows, the armored redhead yells out, "Heaven's Wheel!" As she slices the air in front of her, a multitude of swords that are summoned from the attack rain down on Aria in a furious fashion. Still stunned from the fact Erza was able to slice through his Airspace so easily, Aria doesn't even have a chance to dodge the powerful attack.

The wings of her armor allow Erza to glide past Aria almost instantly just as he is hit the by another powerful slicing attack made by her as she cries out in fury, "Blumenblatt!"

With a strangled cry, he falls to the ground defeated. In a manner of a few seconds, Erza Scarlet, otherwise known as Titania the Queen of the Fairies, defeats the last of the Element 4. She glides softly to the ground, with her back facing Aria.

In a mixture of joy, shock, horror, and awe Happy cries out, "She beat him in one hit!"

Natsu cries out, more in fear than anything else, "Erza's dangerous, that's for sure!"

"The likes of you should never have been able to beat the Master." Erza calmly says to the Phantom Lord mage, her back still facing his prone form. "Your days of glory will be wiped out, starting now," Erza growls out with a look of hatred rarely seen in her eyes as she turns to look at Aria.

"T-The sadness…" is all he manages to mutter out before falling unconscious. Seconds later, the entire building starts shaking violently, and a feeling of falling accompanies it. The movement is not enough to trigger Natsu's motion sickness since it has been fortified with the special tea.

The glow of Erza's magic surrounds her as she changes back into her normal shirt and skirt before falling towards the floor. Natsu, who has been making his way to Erza, rushes forwards and catches her before she hit's the floor.

"Erza!" he shouts out in worry twined with fear that she might have pushed herself too far as he cradled her body next to his in a protective manner. "Hey!" he cries out loudly, trying to get her to wake up. Not long after the shaking has stopped, the cheerful tones of the Phantom Lord speaker system sound off. Natsu tightens his hold on Erza, who has still to awaken, as he glares at the roof towards where José might be.

"Attention all you from Fairy Tail." José's voice rings out sounding very pleased. "Please listen carefully to this voice." he requests almost in a sing-song manner.

"What's this?" Natsu aggressively growls out.

"It's Master José!" Happy exclaims in disgust as he too glares at where the voice seems to be coming from. A pained filled feminine scream sounds out from the system, causing the blood of the everyone who heard and recognized the voice to run cold.

"We have captured Lucy. So we have accomplished one of our objectives." José's voice rings out happily. His voice lowers slightly and becomes gruffer but doesn't lose the note of joy in it, "Thus we have one final goal that remains to be fulfilled. To slaughter the lot of you! Disgusting brats!" At this pronouncement, Natsu is snarling in rage.

"Damn him!" Natsu growls out, barely holding his fury in check. Only his worry over Erza's condition keeps him from taking off to rend José and every other Phantom Lord mage he can find limb from limb. Struggling, he works to push his anger and instinct to fight for those who are precious to him aside.

"Damn it! Lucy's been…" he can't finish the sentence, the fire within him burning hotter to match the heat of his fury. With a sharp intake of breath, Erza manages to wake up.

She weakly looks up at the dragon slayer who is holding onto her and whispers out, "Natsu…" The sound of her voice breaks through Natsu's rage and relief washes over him with the knowledge that she is awake.

"Erza!" he calls out anxiously. He is greatly troubled by how weak she looks. She looks even worse than after defending against Jupiter.

"Unleash…" she whispers to the fire mage. Struggling some, she manages to continue. "…your power!" He looks down at the redhead in shock, wondering what does she mean by his power. "You have…power… sleeping within you…" Erza tells him, having to pause often to take a breath, but finding it easier to talk the longer she is awake.

"Believe in yourself… Breakthrough… And call it forth!" she commands of him in a demanding tone. Natsu can only stare as he holds onto to her, not daring to speak or even move. "Now is the time… Protect Lucy… Protect the guild!" she commands, her voice growing stronger with her desire to get the message across to Natsu. She takes a deep breath before yelling, "Go, Natsu! You're the one who will surpass me!"

Natsu's teeth become clenched as a flurry of emotions rage through him due to Erza's words. Almost every emotion he has ever experienced, only stronger than he has ever felt in his life, swirls inside causing a storm to build within his soul. Unknowing whether to laugh, cry, scream in fear, or roar in anger or a mixture of them all, he stays quiet. Natsu gently leans Erza against a ruined wall and stands up straight and tall. As the storm continues to build, so does Natsu's magic in response.

His vest and scarf start to flutter from the force of his magic leaking into the air and soon his whole body is on fire. Something snaps within and a roar tears its way out of Natsu's mouth. He throws back his head while his flames explode in size and fury. As they burn, they almost take the shape of wings that are spread out wide. The flames continue to grow hotter and larger as he continues to vent out the storm of emotions in an ear-splitting roar. Erza looks on in relief, glad that Natsu was able to tap into the power she knew he had in him all along.

* * *

"Hey! What's the matter?" Gray calls out in shock and worry as the water mage on the ground suddenly seems to pass out. He turns and quickly stands up next to her prone form, unsure of what to do or how to help. The woman has been going through so many emotional twists and turns, he is kind of scared that he might say or do something to set her off, again.

"Hang in there!" he shouts. "Hey! Hey!" he says trying to wake her up, too scared to actually touch her. He kneels next to her to at least make sure that she is breathing, and finding that she is, he lets out a sigh of exasperation. He shakes his head slowly when he notices the look of joy on her face.

"Now, what could have caused her to look so happy after losing?" he mutters to himself.

"Gray!" More than once voice calls his name. More than a little surprised, he looks over to see Mirajane and Elfman running towards him.

"Elfman!" He calls out towards his friend before continuing in a confused voice, "And Mira too?" As they approach, he stands up to properly greet them. The two siblings come up on the other side of Juvia, so all three surround her unconscious body.

"Is this the third Element 4?" Elfman asks of Gray before also asking in a puzzled voice, "Why does she look so happy?"

"Beats me. Maybe she's having a nice dream." Gray says nonchalantly, really not wanting to discuss the battle he just finished having when he has no idea how or why Juvia has acted so random and weird throughout it.

"Only one left!" Mirajane says excitedly which catches Gray off guard. Seeing his confusion, she quickly explains before he has time to ask. "If we can defeat one more, we can stop Abyss Break." Elfman continues the explanation knowing that like him, Gray will need a more details to understand what his sister is talking about.

"The Magic Giant moves using the power of the Element 4." he says calmly.

Mirajane jumps in to exclaim excitedly, "We can still make it! We can do it!" The two guys nod in agreement with Mirajane as they too believe that they now have a chance to stop it. "Let's hurry!" she says, now completely serious. The guys nod again and all three of them take off towards the nearest opening to get inside.

Using one of the skylights that were broken during Gray's battle, they hop in to run deeper within the giant. A few minutes of searching for the last Element 4, Mirajane remembers an important detail about Aria. She stops suddenly, which Gray and her brother do as well as soon as they noticed she stopped.

"What is it, nee-chan?" Elfman asks in concern.

Mirajane gives them both a deadly serious look as she tells them, "When we meet Aria, we must be careful about his eyes."

"His eyes?" Gray asks in puzzlement.

"Yes." she nods gravely.

"What about his eyeballs?" questions Gray in curiosity.

"Aria usually has his eyes closed. By closing his eyes he suppresses the overwhelming magical power he possesses, it seems." She explains in an earnest manner.

"What?" her brother exclaims in surprise, never hearing about someone with so much magical power that they have to suppress it.

Mirajane continues on, "Anyways, if you find Aria, beat him before he can open his eyes! If he opens them, you will lose any chance at victory." At her words, the realization of how serious this is sinking in the minds of the two young men. They lock gazes with one another as both their fear of failure and determination to not let failure happen shows up in their expressions.

A glow catches their attention and Mirajane looks out the nearest window to see what is going on now. A terrified scream tears out of her throat and both men hurry over to see what has distressed the older woman so. As soon as the men look out of the window, their breath catches in their throats. The magic circle for Abyss Break has finished and is about to activate.

They were too late.

A choked cry escapes from Mirajane as the two guys just stand there in silent grief. Then shockingly, the circle shrinks until it disappears. All three of them gasp in disbelief. Before anyone of them could say anything, the giant starts to shake violently.

"What's this? Is this Natsu's doing?" Gray demands while looking around wildly.

"It stopped!" Mirajane cries out in relief. "Abyss Break had been terminated!"

"Seriously? That means…" Elfman trails off as he bites his tongue by accident.

"The power of the four elements has been cut off!" Mirajane finished joyfully. They stumble to their knees as they brace themselves against the shaking that increased dramatically as the transformed guildhall crashes to the ocean below. Looking back out the window, it can be seen that the giant is falling as it has lost the power to keep itself upright.

Less than a minute later, although it seemed much longer than that, the shaking stops. Unsteadily, the three get back on their feet to see everyone on the beach, cheering. Mirajane squeals with joy as Elfman picks her up and swings her around, laughing all the while. Gray stands there smiling at the antics of the siblings.

For a while, everyone's hearts have been lightened as the last of what seems to be threats are now neutralized. Until the cheerful tones of the Phantom Lord speaker system sound off.

"Attention all you from Fairy Tail." José's voice rings out sounding very pleased. "Please listen carefully to this voice." he requests almost in a sing-song manner.

A pained filled feminine scream sounds out from the system, causing the blood of everyone who heard and recognized the voice to run cold.

"We have captured Lucy. So we have accomplished one of our objectives." José's voice rings out happily. His voice lowers slightly and becomes gruffer, but doesn't lose the note of joy in it, "Thus we have one final goal that remains to be fulfilled. To slaughter the lot of you! Disgusting brats!"

Silently, the three friends stare at each other, the horrible realization that they aren't finished with Phantom Lord just yet. Now Lucy needs to be rescued from their clutches, and this time, she might not be able to escape before help arrives.

They nod in silent agreement before running quickly down the halls, knowing that they have to join up with Natsu if they have any chance to save Lucy. They race down the hallways looking for any sign of the dragon slayer. As one, they stop as they sense a large source of magic somewhere ahead of them.

"Natsu…" Mirajane whispers before rushing headlong in the direction that the source of magic was coming from with the two guys not far behind. They eventually make it to a large room that has been royally trashed. A sure sign that Natsu was here. A quick survey shows that the dragon slayer wasn't there anymore, but a surprise did turn up.

"Erza!" Mirajane cries out in shock, as she sees the redhead sitting on the floor looking worse for wear. She was propped up against a pillar and lifted her head when she heard her name.

"Erza!" Gray yells in shock, not expecting to find her here, especially with how heavily wounded she is.

"Looks like there were some fireworks here too," Elfman states as he observes the state of the room since he was the last to enter.

"It's you guys," Erza says with relief as she relaxes against the wall.

"When did you break in?" Gray demands loudly.

"You shouldn't even be standing!" Mirajane exclaims worriedly right on the heels of Gray's question. Elfman stays vigilant in case more Phantom Lord mages decides to show up and attack. He notices something that the other two have missed when they first entered.

"H-Hey!" he calls out to catch his guildmates' attention. Gray and Mirajane turn to look at what Elfman has found. The sight of the strongest mage of the Element 4 laying prone on the ground catches them by surprise.

"Aria?" Mirajane says in shock. Realizing what this means, the three turn to Erza in awe.

"You actually fought with wounds like that?" Elfman asks in amazement.

"What were you thinking?" Gray scolds. He pauses before adding, "Which means…"

"You defeated Aria?" Mirajane finishes Gray's trailing question.

Erza looks up at them with a bemused expression before answering in a soft voice that they haven't heard from her in a long time, "I never wanted you guys to see me so weak like this…" She smiles gently at her family before looking down and closing her eyes. "I guess I still have a long way to go." The redhead declares in a casual manner as if defeating such a powerful mage while wounded so badly isn't an impressive feat.

A cold, noxious aura enters the room and sends unwelcome chills down everyone's spines, including Gray's. The sheer amount of magical pressure heading towards them terrifies the group.

"What's that?" Gray asks hesitantly, fearing he already knows the answer.

"That's…" is all Mirajane can say as the foreboding feeling grows.

"I sense death!" Erza exclaims, not used to feeling this overwhelming aura of doom.

"What is this feeling?" Gray asks, deeply troubled by the turn of events.

Elfman shudders as he comments, "It sends chills down a Man's spine!"

"The malice is palpable!" Mirajane says with a shudder. A soft clapping noise coming from behind the group startles them and they swiftly turn around to see José with a sardonic smile on his face.

"My, my. I'm quite impressed, my Fairy Tail Wizards…" He says slowly and calmly in that perpetually smug voice. He is standing at the other end of the hall, his magic visibly rolling off of him in a purplish black haze. "To think I would be able to have such fun… I would never have dreamed it." he continues, his voice now turning mocking as he regales the Fairy Tail members with an icy glare that his smile doesn't reach. He spreads his arms out as if to encompass the entire guild hall.

"Destroying Jupiter, taking down the Element 4... And even bringing my Magic Giant to its knees!" A frenzied look graces his face and his tone matches his expression.

"Master José!" growls out Erza in anger. Elfman has a scared expression on his face as just by sensing José's magical power, he knew that he was completely outclassed and had no way to win if he had to fight.

"This guy is Phantom's master?" Gray questions in awe and fear. Mirajane puts her hand over her mouth and looks like she is about to become sick.

"How can magic feel so… evil? I feel nauseous just standing near him!" She exclaims, as her face pales.

"Now, I must thank you for the fun you've given me." José intones in a voice speaking of generosity. They might have believed him if it wasn't for the malignant aura of his magic and the cold glare of hatred in his eyes.

"Elfman!" Gray cries out as he jumps in front of the girls, bent over in a defensive position.

"Right!" The larger male grunts out as he also jumps in front of the girls at the same time Gray does.

José glares coldly at mages in front of him and waves a hand in front of his face as he says to himself, "I'll enjoy this…" Hand up, his magic starts to form and increase in power. Gray and Elfman immediately go on the attack, hoping to stop whatever nasty spell José is about to cast. They jump towards the leader of the Phantom Lord guild, and his magic activates into a yellowish color as they approach.

"Wait, don't be hasty!" Erza screams out in warning, but it is too late. The boys attack and José activates the spell.

"Absurd!" he calls out disdainfully at the weak attacks coming towards him. His magic changes color and dozens of purple-black forms streak across the hall, a majority of them hitting Elfman and Gray. Overwhelmed by the sheer power of the spell, they are flung into a far wall of the room and crash land hard onto their backs. José did cast a spell before attacking the two males, what they don't know was that it wasn't aimed at them.

* * *

Outside, the Shades that have been constantly besieging the Fairy Tail wizards on the beach suddenly stop attacking. They fly up into the air, congregating into one large group. They merge together into a swirling dark purple sphere and the sphere grows as more Shades join in. It grows until it is almost the size of the Fairy Tail guildhall and eyes appears on the mass of magic. Six long black arms also appear, wiggling around in a creepy way.

As the wizards on the beach try to understand what is going on the blob of magic raises its arms and punches the Fairy Tail guildhall. Everyone is stunned at the sight. Their beloved guild, their home, is being destroyed right before their very eyes. Screams of pain and despair sound off across the beach. A few quick-witted mages start to attack the mass of magic and the others quickly join in.

* * *

"Elfman, Gray!" Mirajane screams out in fright. A noise behind her catches her attention and she turns with a gasp. Erza is in a kneeling position, trying to stand up again to fight. Ignoring the females, José sweeps his arm over the area where the guys landed and a golden glow appears before erupting into an explosion. Again, helpless against José's power, they are blown backward unable to defend themselves.

This opponent was no joke. The force of the explosion even knocks back Mirajane who wasn't in the line of fire. The blast was strong enough that it knocked out both guys and Mira in one shot. Her anger and determination to protect her friends give Erza not only the strength to stand, but to charge towards José. Seeing the redhead approaching rapidly towards him, José extends an arm in her direction and a swirling mass of magic blasts out from his palm.

Erza's reflexes kick in and she is able to dodge the attacks as she continues her headlong rush towards their enemy. Jumping into the air, she changes into her demonic looking armor that allowed her to enter the giant along with Krysti. With an enraged yell, the redhead tries an overhead swing of her sword, hoping to strike José. The guild leader was able to dodge nimbly to the side, completely avoiding her attack.

A quick change in grip and Erza turns the overhead slice into a horizontal one that aims for José's neck. He ducks quickly and grabs onto Erza's arms before the armored woman can mount another attack. She realizes in shock that she can't get out of José's grip. He is either just too strong, or she is just too weak from her earlier battles. Knowing that he has Erza firmly in his grasp, his ever-present smile becomes slightly crazed.

With a powerful throw, the leader of Phantom Lord tosses Erza into the air and away from him. Using a piece of rubble as a step, she is able to recover from the toss and not suffer any more wounds as of yet. Flipping in mid-air, she lands lightly on the ground in a kneeling position. Calmly they both stand back up, José looking quite bored with the exchange and Erza looking quite angry.

"You," José says in a bored tone to match his expression. "I'm pretty sure you took a direct hit from Jupiter," he states. A hint of irritation can be heard in his voice when he asks, "How is it you can stand?"

"My friends strengthen my heart!" Erza proclaims loudly as she holds her sword in an outstretched hand, unwavering. "For those that I love… I'd throw away this body!" she declares in utmost certainty.

"Strong, courageous, beautiful… It will be such a pleasure to destroy you, girl!" José cries out with a manic expression now on his face.

"Leave Erza alone asshole!" a voice harshly growls out. José barely turns his head to get a look at the newcomer.

* * *

Lucy flies into a wall and lets out a choked cry of pain as gravity takes over and pulls her to the ground with a thud. She lies there weakly, her body crying out in pain from being abused so harshly. Her abuser, Gajeel, reacts his pillar arm from where it hit the blonde girl as he lets out a hum of appreciation.

"Not too bad a sound." he compliments as he holds his fist at face level as if admiring the strength in his arm. Lucy whimpers out in pain as she struggles not to pass out. Looking down at her quivering form, he lowers his arm as he gives her a half amused and half disappointed look before complaining, "But man, what a lame reaction…"

"Gajeel, don't you think you should stop now?" asks one of the lower ranking Phantom Lord mages who made it to the Giant control room for safety. As he talks, Gajeel gets an annoyed look on his face as he turns partway to look at his fellow guild member better. "You keep doing this, and it'll be serious trouble!" the less powerful mage continues in a pleading tone.

"But I'm bored." the Iron Dragon Slayer whines in a dismissive manner. Gajeel turns away and his expression hardens some. "The master sure is cruel." Gajeel continues as he raises his other hand up at face level.

"Making me watch over the girl like this, and going to deal with the flies himself." Gajeel activates his magic and his upraised hand turns into his signature metal pillar while a grin of anticipation crosses his face. He walks towards Lucy, almost leering down at her prone body. Imagining the pain he is going to inflict on her.

"What's the harm in doing this to pass the time, huh?" he asks casually as if he was just suggesting to play a harmless game.

"Stop it." the same mage barks out. "If the master finds out, he won't let you off so easy!" he warns the larger man. Growing annoyed, Gajeel swings his arm to the side and extends the pillar to hit the complaining mage full on in the face. The force of the blow forces him back and pins him against the wall.

"Shut up," Gajeel commands with a hint of annoyance in his voice and a look of anger on his face. "Maybe she's some noblewoman or something, but to me, she's nothing but Fairy Butt trash." Gajeel releases his magic and gestures toward Lucy with his arms widespread. "And even if she's a woman, she's still a Wizard. She should be prepared for this when she joined a guild." he states simply.

"But you're going overboard." another wizard complains. "What a waste…" he trails off thinking about the money they could lose if she died from Gajeel's actions.

"Master's gonna be pissed, big time." chimes in a nearby female mage, hoping to help drive the point home.

Gajeel turns toward them with one hand on his hip and a bemused expression as he replies flippantly, "If that happens, I'll blame it on you guys." He then laughs at their expense, knowing their master will most likely believe him and doesn't care if José doesn't.

"What a jerk…" the two mages mutter in unison as the dragon slayer turns back towards their prisoner. Lucy still hasn't moved from where she has fallen, unused to the amount of physical pain Gajeel is putting her through.

"But man, how stupid." Gajeel lightly complains as he crosses his arms over his chest while staring down at Lucy. Almost as if she senses his gaze, she slowly starts to pull herself up onto her hands and knees.

Ignoring her movements, Gajeel continues in the same tone, "Now that they know she's rich, the Fairy Butts are frantic to get her back." At hearing his words, Lucy lightly scoffs as she lifts her head painfully to lock eyes with the Dragon Slayer of Phantom Lord. Her reaction catches Gajeel's attention and he focuses more intently on the blonde woman in front of him who is making her way up to a standing position. She has one hand on the wall next to her to gain additional support as she had trouble standing.

"You guys really are complete idiots," she states in a breathy voice, still recovering from her earlier beating. "So pitiful… I think I'm tearing up." she continues with a cocky attitude. Gajeel lets out a noise denoting his curiosity as the rest of the occupants in the room look on in horror.

"What is she thinking?" the male mage that Gajeel didn't hit questions softly. He looks on in disbelief that their prisoner still has the strength and stupidity to talk back to Gajeel.

"She's provoking Gajeel." the female Phantom Lord mage answers back, quickly grasping the situation. Lucy locks eyes with Gajeel while giving him a look of complete confidence.

She continues on mockingly, "Phantom Lord? The rulers of spirits? What a joke! I'm not scared of you at all!" She proclaimed that last sentence loudly as if she hasn't just been beaten up.

"Is that so?" Gajeel questions softly with an unreadable expression on his face. Without warning, he punches Lucy in the gut so hard with one of his pillar arms that the wall behind her turns into rubble. Teeth clenched, she refuses to let out a cry of pain as she is caught between the wall and the pillar.

"You got some balls bluffing in a situation like this," he said louder and in a slightly admiring tone. "I must say that's not bad…" he continues before retracting his arm and letting Lucy fall down to the ground again. She lands on her knees with a gasp of pain before falling forward.

She catches herself with her hands while Gajeel keeps speaking, "But, you see… What I want to hear isn't your backtalk. I want to hear you scream." he says informatively. Lucy trembles with the force of holding back her cries of pain, not wanting to give into the sick bastard's pleasure.

Getting slightly frustrated with her stubbornness, Gajeel says more harshly, "You don't start yelling and there's going to be trouble."

Lucy pushes herself up a bit to look at Gajeel again while wrapping one arm around her stomach where she was hit before asking, "Then why don't you try killing me?" She taunted. "You do that, and you'll be in bigger trouble." Lucy threatens with that confident look still in her eyes.

"Oh?" Gajeel calls out as a manic gleam enters his eyes and appears on his face. "Well, that sounds interesting," he calls out in an interested tone. "Let me hear it," he demands in a quieter, but a more excited voice.

Lucy intones imperiously, "Fairy Tail would never forgive you. That's the kind of guild they are! You'd be shivering under the shadow of the world's scariest guild every day… For the rest of your lives!" she almost shouts out the last part. Awestruck at her bravery, the rest of the mages in the room look on unable to tear their eyes away from the spectacle.

"That sounds like fun, too." Gajeel rumbles out with a hard glare aimed at the entirely too confident, in his opinion, blonde. An evil grin graces his features as he shouts, "Let's try that out!" He has both of his arms turn into pillars and form an 'X' in front of him. He jumps up high, planning on using the force of his falling body to add extra damage on the already beaten up girl.

Fearing for their payout, one of the Phantom mages yells out Gajeel's name in hopes of halting his attack, but to no avail. Gajeel changes his mind in mid-jump on how he wants to attack Lucy and so then changes his leg into a pillar to land an extra-hard stomp onto her body. He cackles maniacally, enjoying the pain he is about to cause to one of his enemies.

Lucy looks on as Gajeel descends, too wounded to even try to dodge. When Gajeel gets close to Lucy, the floor in front of her quickly cracks open with red light seeping through. The Dragon Slayer looks on in surprise as he continues to descend right towards the cracking floor. A fire appears through the cracks that erupt into a full-blown conflagration that envelops the attacking mage.

The rest of the mages in the room hears an enraged roar coming from the fire. A loud thwack is then heard before Gajeel is flying out of the fire like he has been hit. He recovers before hitting the ground and lands in a kneeling position as he continues to slide back from the force of the hit. He stares at the fire, entirely not amused.

The fire swirls like a tornado from where it has burst out from the floor before it explodes and spreads out to the sides. It takes the shape of two giant wings as the enraged roar sounds off again. Blasts of hot air explode from the flaming winged figure as the rubble of the floor is burnt up in the incredible heat.

Gajeel looks on with a look of anticipation as he calmly states, "I knew it." Excitement grows in his voice as he says, "I noticed your smell!"

Lucy looks on in relief and happiness as she makes out the figure within the inferno. "Natsu!" she says softly in joy at seeing one of her dear friends.

The fire still raging with the storm of emotions released from within Natsu, the Fire Dragon Slayer bellows out, "Gajeel!" in rage. One could almost hear the bellow of an angry beast echo with Natsu's voice. In response, Gajeel starts to chuckle lightly.

"Its so easy to lure you out, Salamander," Gajeel says mockingly as Natsu is still surrounded by his fire.

"That's 'cause you keep playing dirty, Iron Dragon!" Natsu retorts in a much calmer voice than before.

"Natsu!" Lucy cries out softly with the relief evident in her voice. Her look of joy is quickly replaced by a startled expression as she stares at Natsu's form.

"Lucy, get back," Natsu tells her gently, in a manner very unlike the way he usually would be just before a battle. His focus is entirely on the dragon slayer before him.

"Gajeel!" calls out one of the other Phantom Lord mages, wanting to know what Gajeel wants them to do.

The Iron Dragon Slayer gets into an attack stance as yells back to his guild members, "Stay outta this!" A look of anticipation and excitement appears on his face as he relishes the thought of having a good fight. Impatient to battle, Gajeel leaps into action as he charges Natsu head-on. In response, the pink-haired mage breaks off the cyclone of fire and concentrates it in his fists.

"Bring it!" Yells out an enraged Natsu as he too leaps towards his opponent. With a roar, they clash with Gajeel sending out a pillar arm towards Natsu. In return, he dodges the attack before grabbing hold of the pillar and using it to swing Gajeel around. After using the swing to gather momentum, Natsu lets go of the pillar which sends Gajeel flying backward towards a wall.

The larger mage hits the wall with his feet as he lets out a grunt from the impact. The wall itself crumbles around Gajeel's feet, a testament to Natsu's strength. Not giving Gajeel time to counterattack, Natsu follows close behind and launches a high-powered flaming punch. Gajeel has just enough time to lift his pillar arm to use it as a shield to protect him from the attack. As Natsu's fist connects, an eruption bursts out sending flames, dust, and hot wind blasting across the room obscuring the view.

The blasts end up way too close to the Phantom wizards for their comfort. They run away screaming about how they don't want to get dragged into the fight. Gajeel busts out of the cloud of dust and smoke with Natsu following not far behind with his fists still on fire. Surprised, Gajeel is open for attack in which Natsu doesn't hesitate and punches the Iron Dragon Slayer right in the jaw.

Gajeel is sent flying back across the football field-sized room and he crashes into the wall in an explosion of dust. As the dust quickly clears, the larger dragon slayer is still in the crater of the wall rubbing at his cheek with his thumb and lets out a pained grunt. Natsu landed on the floor and concentrates his magic towards his feet to push off and jump high into the air which catches Gajeel's attention as Natsu yells out his next attack.

"Talons of the Fire Dragon!" the pink haired mage cries out while his feet remain on fire. Using the fire to propel him, Natsu goes in for an overhead ax kick which Gajeel is unable to dodge and is barely able to block with his transformed arm. As the attack hit, another explosion of fire occurs which pushes Natsu backward and consumes Gajeel. Lucy takes this all in with a stunned expression. The ferocity of the Fire Dragon Slayer's attacks overwhelms her, as she has never seen Natsu fight while this angry before.

A familiar high-pitched voice catches her attention, "Lucy, are you okay?" With a start, Lucy turns to see Happy running to her with concern written all over his face.

"Happy!" she cries out in joy at seeing the little blue cat. She smiles gently at him before softly answering, "Yeah..." The smile on her face quickly fades as she turns back to watch the fight between the two slayers.

Turning to see what she is looking at, Happy asks, "What's the matter?" She looks on as clouds of dust and smoke choke the air. Natsu angrily strides toward Gajeel with all intents and purposes of beating the absolute crap out of him.

"I never saw Natsu like that." Lucy hesitantly admits.

"Aye. Neither have I." Happy agrees with a solemn nod. The blue cat then puts his paws on his hips in a confident manner and a look of fierce pride overtakes his features. "But Natsu is really powerful right now." he strongly states. Lucy quietly looks on, knowing that Natsu can fight and take care of himself but still is worried about her friend and the outcome of this fight. Using his hand to help crack his neck, Gajeel takes on an easygoing posture.

"You're sure acting uppity, trash." the Iron Dragon Slayer says with the airs of someone who fully believes that they are better than those around them.

Natsu heatedly snaps back, "Same to you! You beat Lucy up…" Gajeel's look of self-satisfaction doesn't budge an inch which causes Natsu's ire and fist to flare up as he continues, "So I'm gonna bend that face of yours and turn it into iron filings." Gajeel gives the rival dragon slayer a shit-eating grin as he rotates his arm around in a circle to help stretch out the muscle. He lets out a more sinister laugh as his grin deepens to one of anticipation.

"Sounds like fun. Try me!" he calls out excitedly, hoping to finally get a really good fight out of this. As one, both the mages run at each other, planning on knocking the other back with a well-placed punch. They both hit the other once, then twice. The two at equal levels of power. Gajeel goes for a longer distance attack by sending out his left arm as a pillar to hit Natsu. The fire mage, in turn, dodges the attack with a flip and lands on the iron pillar in a handstand.

Using this, he pushes off with his arms to head towards Gajeel with the intent to kick him in the face. With startling speed, Gajeel retracts his left arm and changes his right one into a blade before slicing at Natsu twice before the Fairy Tail wizard could land the kick. Flipping backward through the air, Natsu extends one of his arms to catch himself and flip into a recovery position with his back facing Gajeel. Frustrated anger is now etched into Natsu's face as the enemy keeps heaping more and more surprises into this prolonged war.

"What's that dangerous looking thing?" he almost growls out, his expression unchanging as he looks back to give a hate-filled glare towards the larger male. As Natsu looks back, he can see the new configuration of Gajeel's arm better. It's a long, and fairly thick, sword that has extra spikes along the edge of the blade that gives the whole thing quite a nasty look.

"Sword of the Iron Dragon." Gajeel answers simply before continuing on in a much prouder tone. "There's nothing that won't be cut to shreds when hit with this!" As he speaks, the spikes start to rotate around the blade edge with greater and greater speed until they are nothing but a blur. A noise not unlike a chainsaw accompanies it.

Gajeel's voice deepens with a more sinister note, "I want to test how well this cuts on you, Salamander!"

Not threatened at all, Natsu replies back cockily, "That ain't nothing!" Lucy and Happy, on the other hand, are very threatened by the blade.

"What's that?" She cries out the question, fearful for Natsu's life.

"It's Iron Dragon Slayer Magic!" Happy tells Lucy in a fearful, yet smart alec way. Lucy is so worried for Natsu that she doesn't even notice that Happy yet again insulted her, albeit unintentionally. With a crazed grin, Gajeel jumps high into the air while laughing manically aiming to slice the pink-haired man in half. Natsu jumps backward to avoid the hit and the blade buries itself into the floor.

The hit was so powerful that the floor broke apart almost as in an explosion and the nearby Phantom mages get caught up in the blast. They yell out their complaints in getting caught up in the battle that they are trying to avoid, but the two slayers pay them no mind. Gajeel pulls his blade out of the ground and swings it towards Natsu's retreating form to use the pressure wave to push him even further back.

He laughs maniacally again before crowing, "Can't stop it now like you did before, huh?" He jumps towards Natsu and swings again and again with the smaller man nimbly dodging each slice. "I thought you said it ain't nothing!" Gajeel taunts as he chases after Natsu across the floor. At one point, Natsu lands in front of the other Phantom mages which causes the two to pause the battle again.

"You actually move pretty well there." the dark-hair man compliments.

"Same to you," Natsu replies curtly. Gajeel releases the blade form of his arm with a smug grin.

"That last time was just the preliminaries, after all. Let's finish this, Salamander!" the Iron Dragon Slayer urges, really wanting to get a proper fight in, not these little warm up matches. Natsu wipes some dirt off his nose, the same angry expression has yet to leave his face.

"Now I'm fired up, you scrap-iron bastard!" Natsu practically spits out. Lucy, who is watching safely from the sidelines worries about how the battle will turn out since both fighters are able to transform their bodies to have the quality of dragons. Both of them are extremely powerful in their own right, but to have the two of them battle each other, who knows what will happen. As the two dragon slayers stare each other down, a green magic circle appears under Gajeel's feet. As everyone watches, they can see that his skin turns metallic and scaly.

"I will destroy you!" Gajeel proclaims as he stares wildly at Natsu. Happy and Lucy are surprised beyond belief at this transformation, never even guessing that Gajeel could do this.

"His body!" she gasps out in fear, the normally intimidating man is now even scarier looking.

"Scales of the Dragon." Happy guesses correctly.

His transformation finished, Gajeel rushes towards Natsu even faster than before while shouting, "Hard Fist of the Iron Dragon!" He then punches Natsu who is able to get his forearm up in time to block the attack. Another magic circle is activated as Gajeel's fist made contact and as a result, Natsu is sent flying backward. He flies through the group of Phantom Lord mages that he was in front of and is buried in the wall behind them as the mages dodge the flying wizard as they complain about being part of the fight.

Gajeel's eyes seem to glow red with his immense pleasure of giving his enemy such a hard blow. He laughs at Natsu's plight as in Gajeel's mind, the battle is about to be over. Getting out of the wall, Natsu lands on the ground in a crouched position while clutching the arm he used to block. It is already bruised and swelling from the hit, which says something about Gajeel's strength since no other attack from any other Phantom mage has caused that much damage to the Fire Dragon Slayer.

"That made a nice sound," Gajeel says, quite pleased with himself.

"Natsu was bruised with just one hit?" Lucy almost whimpers, as one of her hands covers her mouth as she starts to shake in fear.

"Those scales are made of the hardest iron." Happy informs Lucy with a serious tone. He watches the battle closely, waiting for a chance where he might be able to help Natsu. Impatient, Gajeel uses his increased speed to get close to Natsu and catch him off-guard. Just as he reaches the Fairy Tail mage, he gives Natsu an uppercut right to the chin which causes Natsu to fly across the room in another direction.

Following close behind, the dark-haired male gives Natsu a right hook to send him in another direction before he could recover from the uppercut. With a crazed smile and laugh, Gajeel goes for a devastating kick which Natsu was just able to duck under.

The pressure wave alone from the kick raises up a line of dust and cracks the floor. It hits where Happy and Lucy are and almost sweeps Happy away with it if he didn't catch a hold of Lucy's shirt at the last moment.

"No way! That's the air pressure from his kick?" she cries out in awe and disbelief as she has to use both hands to keep her short skirt from showing her underwear.

"Those iron scales have doubled the strength of his attacks!" Happy cries out while trying to keep from being blown away. In retaliation, Natsu lights his fist up and goes to punch Gajeel right in the face. The Phantom mage doesn't even try to dodge the attack and takes it square on the chin. He chuckles at Natsu's shocked and angry face.

"These iron scales render all your attacks to be powerless!" Gajeel gloats. Gritting his teeth for a moment, Natsu can't hold back anymore and throws himself backward with a cry of pain. With the dust and wind settled, Lucy and Happy can watch the battle better. They can't help but notice how Natsu's attacks don't affect Gajeel anymore.

"Oh no! His defense is upped?" Lucy questions herself in worry. Also worried, Happy cries out Natsu's name. The Fire Dragon Slayer in question starts rolling on the ground in pain from how much it hurt to hit Gajeel's scale covered face.

In a poor attempt to keep some of his dignity intact, Natsu cries out, "It doesn't hurt! It doesn't hurt, damn it!" even as he is rolling on the ground and screaming out in pain. This display causes Lucy and Happy to feel partly embarrassed at their friend's antics in the middle of an important battle. Annoyed by the rather childish screaming, Gajeel appears in front of Natsu as the pink-haired man stood back up.

"Shut up already!" Gajeel angrily shouts at Natsu before head butting him back to the ground. The floor cracks under the pressure of the blow. "That's enough pretending you're okay!" the larger male yells out before driving a newly clawed hand into Natsu's back. Or so it would have been if Natsu didn't quickly dodge the attack. Although he wasn't quite quick enough and he lost a part of his vest with that last attack.

Sliding to a stop nearby Natsu shouts back, "You clanky bastard! I'll blow you away!" With that, Natsu pounds his fists together in the beginning of his signature breath attack. At the same time, Gajeel also starts up a breath attack which shocks Lucy and Happy, who didn't realize that Gajeel could also use a breath attack just like Natsu since the two had quite different attacks until now.

The fire and metal breath attacks meet in the middle and cause another explosion-like pressure wave to fill the entire room. Happy is barely able to catch Lucy's hair in time to be kept from being swept away and it takes all of his strength just to hold on. Lucy doesn't even pay attention to her skirt, she is too focused on keeping upright throughout the blast which doesn't happen and she gets blown away.

Some of the male Phantom mages still in the room notice Lucy's skirt flying up and showing off her underwear. Being the perverts that they are, they become completely entranced at the sight and then promptly get blown away as well. The wave was so strong that it tore a giant hole in the outside wall so the guild and town can be seen clearly.

The sudden intrusion of sunlight brightens the dim room considerably and more of the actual damage that the been dealt in the room can be seen. Gajeel stands with his back facing the opening, so mainly his outline could be seen by the other dragon slayer.

"It looks like the difference in the two dragons is obvious now, Salamander." Gajeel proclaims calmly and confidently, quite different than he was just a moment ago. As the dust settles again, it can be seen that Gajeel's clothing has taken a hit, and is missing a large chunk of the torso.

"Even if your flaming breath can wipe out enemies," Gajeel continues almost magnanimously with his arms outstretched, "against iron, it doesn't even make a scratch. But my breath of iron blades has torn your body to shreds." Hearing this, Lucy and Happy turn to look at Natsu as they were watching Gajeel as he spoke. The sight that met their eyes caused both of them to gasp and almost start crying.

There Natsu stands, legs spread wide and clutching onto his left arm as it hangs as if broken. But that isn't what causes the two to be so upset. It's the fact that Natsu's body is covered in metal shrapnel that is embedded in his body and he is bleeding from a multitude of places. Faith in his surrogate father courses through Happy as he makes his way to stand protectively in front of Lucy who landed against a wall during the blast.

"He's… Strong!" Happy declares, completely confident in Natsu's ability to prevail despite how the situation looks currently.

Natsu lets out a bit of a laugh and smiles at Gajeel in a cocky manner as he retorts, "Not a scratch, you say? Sure you're not a bit groggy?" Just a bit after saying that, a visible crack appears in the scales along Gajeel's face. The Iron Dragon Slayer is astonished, never before has his scales even been slightly damaged, and here this weak piece of trash was able to crack it. Hope surges through Lucy as she also notices the crack in the armor.

"My flames aren't just any fire! The flames of the Fire Dragon destroy everything!" Natsu states with a shout. He takes off his very tattered vest since it is almost completely destroyed. So besides the scarf, he is basically topless. Activating his magic, Natsu is suddenly engulfed in flames.

"If you don't get serious, I'll crush you to pieces, Gajeel the Iron Dragon! Enough with feeling each other out!" Natsu proclaims in a lower, gravelly voice.

"Sounds good to me!" Gajeel crows out in delight as he also activates his magic. The force of his magic surrounding him completely destroys what was left of his coat, so he too is bare-chested. The other Phantom wizards that are still conscious can only gape in disbelief that the heated battle so far has yet to turn serious between the two slayers.

"They're Dragon Slayers." Happy proclaims, still full of unwavering faith.

"Incredible…" Lucy first says, full of awe at their power. She trails off as she notices something. "and wait, why did they strip?" she questions more to herself than anything while feeling awkward.

"Come'ere, Gajeel the Iron Dragon!" Natsu says calmly even though his expression is anything but calm while his magic still swirls around him.

"There isn't enough room in the sky for two dragons! I'll drop you, Natsu the Salamander." Gajeel declares with a manic grin. With a nonmagical roar, the two hurdle towards the other with their fists extended. The power of the collision breaks the already weakened room down even more as more and more cracks appear all over. With a sudden blast of magic, the two launch themselves high into the air like missiles.

They flew up so high that they looked like small dots in the sky. Natsu was so focused on beating Gajeel that he doesn't even notice the combined forces of José's Shades attacking the guild hall. All the wizards left in the partly destroyed room follow the progress of the two slayers as they still continue to go up higher into the sky.

They both use their magic to propel themselves high into the air for a proper sky battle between dragons. They trade blow for blow, each not wanting to give an inch to the other. Powerful strike after powerful strike, they pummel each other. The force of the pressure waves from the attacks alone is almost enough to keep them airborne. All the others below could make out were flashes of light as magically enhanced punches made contact.

After what seems like minutes, the two finally fall down and they land on top of the roof of the disabled giant. They rush towards each other as soon as they touch down and engage in a massive head butt. They push against the other, trying to make the other give way. They jump back, before jumping forwards again to continue attacking. More flashes can be seen, but the fight can be seen clearly now and it leaves the audience below in silent awe.

Kicks and punches are still being traded with neither side wanting to give ground. They land on top of the massive stone spike that adorns the head of the guildhall giant. So much power was put into the attacks the slayers used, that the spike breaks off from the pressure wave alone. Unluckily for the spectators, that spike just so happens to be right above them. They scurry around trying to find a safe place to be at in the room.

Luckily for them, this room was huge so even with the section destroyed by the spike, there is still more than enough space that hasn't been completely destroyed. The two slayers land in the room with the others along with the spike. They survey each other and gauge how well their attacks damaged the enemy. Breathing heavy, the two males work on recovering their strength and magic so the fight can continue.

"Gajeel's getting beaten down!" says the only female Phantom mage in the room with great surprise. Never has anyone from Phantom Lord seen someone who could fight evenly with Gajeel. Much less someone who could possibly be even stronger than their Dragon Slayer.

"No, but look! Salamander's also out of breath!" replies one of the remaining male Phantom mages. And indeed it was true. Natsu is breathing much heavier than Gajeel, the fight with Aria and Totomaru drained a lot out of the Fire Dragon Slayer. An odd clanking sound is heard and quickly Natsu notices that Gajeel is eating metal! Understanding what is happening immediately, Natsu grows angry and starts hopping in his anger.

"That's _so_ not fair!" He shouts out, extremely frustrated. "Don't eat by yourself!" Natsu commands, wishing there was some fire around that he could eat as well. Gajeel just stays kneeling on the floor and continues chewing up the iron scraps on the floor.

"Shubab!" Gajeel says with a mouthful of metal. Lucy and Happy look on while feeling flabbergasted that the Iron Dragon Slayer actually does eat metal like how Natsu eats fire to regain his magic and stamina. After a couple of mouthfuls, Gajeel finishes eating.

"Now that I've eaten, I'm all revved up!" the dark-haired slayer cries out victoriously.

Still feeling cheated that Gajeel got to eat and he didn't, Natsu almost screeches out, "Don't copy me!" It seems like an insult that Gajeel even talks about getting energized after eating just like Natsu does. Just as if he has to prove how much magic he recovered, Gajeel throws back his head and roars as he unleashes a lot of magic to power himself up.

"What? He's suddenly full of energy?!" Lucy gasps out, not quite understanding what is going on.

"Dragon Slayers can restore their energy and power up by eating their respective element!" Happy explains seriously. Hearing this, everything clicks with Lucy why Natsu is always wanting to eat fire. Before she thought it was just some odd thing he did since fire doesn't hurt him at all.

"Then Natsu needs to eat fire!" Lucy cries out with hope, but sudden realization hits and despair falls on the two. "That's right…" she trails off, as the hope disappears just as quickly as it came.

"Natsu can't eat his own magic flames!" Happy finishes the thought that they both are sharing.

"But… What should he do?" Lucy asks of Happy, hoping that maybe he has an idea. Finished powering up, Gajeel turns so his side is facing Natsu and he raises his right arm high into the air.

"I'll tear you to shreds!" Gajeel promises, all excited that he is about to end this battle and be the victor. He lowers his arm so his hand is pointing straight at Natsu before calling out his next attack.

"Spears of the Iron Dragon! Demon Poles!" He shouts out as the magic circle activates and dozens upon dozens of spear-like metal poles are shot out at Natsu. The attack was so fast that Natsu wasn't able to dodge and so he takes the attack head on. Too tired to even block, Natsu screams out in pain as he gets hit with the spears.

"Fire, fire… Did I have a fire spirit?" Lucy mumbles to herself as she goes searching for her keys. A memory comes back which causes her to gasp. Her keys were back at the street where she was kidnapped and Krysti was so mercilessly beaten up.

"Oh yeah, I lost my keys," she says sadly, feeling helpless without her Spirits to be there to help her. The attack finally ending, Natsu falls down to the ground and lays there prone and unmoving. "The only one I have on hand is the new one Sagittarius. I haven't made a contract yet since I promised Krysti that I wouldn't make one without her to be there to see it." Lucy says softly.

"I'm sorry Krysti, I know you will understand, but this is the only chance we got!" Lucy's voice grows in volume and strength as the determination to help Natsu floods through her. As Lucy's resolve is solidifying, Natsu slowly and painfully pushes himself upright to continue the fight despite how the odds are against him.

"I am linked to the path to the world of Celestial Spirits! Now! O Spirit, answer my call and pass through the Gate!" Lucy calls out strongly as her magic activates in a golden halo around her. "Gate of the Archer, I open thee! Sagittarius!" A cloud of smoke appears and a tall figure can be seen within. The snorting head of a horse bursts through the smoke and a male voice can be heard.

"Horse!" the figure cries out as he emerges from the smoke. A grave looking male with dark hair wearing a horse costume appears. Over the costume, a white shirt, green vest, red bolo tie, and yellow and black vertical striped puffy pants are seen. Sagittarius is carrying a shiny silver bow and a quiver of red-fletched arrows on his back.

He salutes in the direction that he is facing and announces, "I am here! Moshimoshi." Not what she was expecting at all, Lucy tries not to be rude and let the spirit see her disappointment by putting on a fake happy face.

"Look, he's here!" she says stiffly. Happy, on the other hand, has no qualms and immediately points out the most noticeable feature.

"And wearing a horse suit!" he shouts out in surprise.

Pushing aside her feelings about how he looks, Lucy addressed the Spirit, "I'll explain the details later! Can you shoot fire?" she asks of him quickly.

Happy, who like his surrogate father is almost always hungry, looks at Sagittarius with a slightly dreamy expression and mummers out, "Horsemeat…"

Sagittarius turns to the side and looks up towards the ceiling as he answers, "No. For I am an archer, as it were!" He then salutes while not taking his eyes away from the ceiling as he says, "Moshimoshi!"

"R-Right…" Lucy agrees, feeling deflated at the fact that her only chance to be of help has gone down the drain.

"Where are you saluting to?" Happy asks, feeling kind of awkward with the strange Spirit's actions. Despite focusing on the battle with Gajeel, Natsu is able to hear everything that Lucy and Happy are doing.

"Lucy! It's dangerous, so get back!" he cries out, not wanting her to be hurt any more than she already has. Lucy looks over at Natsu in surprise as he called her name.

"A-Aye!" she shouts back as she quickly grabs a hold of Sagittarius and proceeds to pull him away from the fight.

"Moshimoshi!" the horse-suit wearing Spirit calls out as he gets dragged further away from the action. When far enough away, Lucy lets go and fall down onto her hands and knees in woe.

"I'm so useless!" she cries out to herself, feeling upset and powerless to do anything to help. Happy reaches a paw out in her direction and tries to encourage her.

"Now now, look on the bright side." he starts off. Lucy feels even more dejected as Happy has nothing else to add.

"As it were!" Sagittarius interrupts as he looks off to a random direction and salutes again.

Crouching down, Natsu engulfs himself in his flames as he shouts out, "Here I go!" before pushing off from that position to fly towards the Iron Dragon Slayer. "Edge of the Fire Dragon!" Natsu shouts out as he goes on the attack again. He rams into the other man's stomach with his head while still on fire. Gajeel barely even moves an inch from that attack which leaves Natsu feeling shocked and dismayed.

"Don't have any power on an empty stomach?" Gajeel taunts the pink-haired man before swinging one of his arms to knock Natsu into the ground by his feet. The blow was strong enough to make Natsu bounce back up into the air. Changing his other arm into a metal pole, Gajeel drives it into the back of Natsu's head and breaks the floor where it landed.

"Then eat some iron!" Gajeel then commands the other dragon slayer. To make sure Natsu does what he wants him to, the Iron Dragon Slayer then extends the pillar to push Natsu face first across the floor so hard that it leave a furrow across the floor.

Lucy looks on, helpless and frightened for Natsu's life. Her hands cover her mouth in an attempt to keep herself from screaming. Even Gajeel's guild mates look on aghast at the slayer's power and actions. After pushing Natsu through the room, Gajeel swings him around and tosses him into some machinery that lines one side of the room.

"I've got no more use for you," Gajeel says casually, just like he isn't beating someone to within an inch of their life. Natsu falls lifelessly to the ground, his energy spent. "Disappear, trash!" the larger male commands. Happy and Lucy can barely watch this one-sided battle. The last blow sends Natsu towards the edge of the room where the first big hole in the wall was made.

"I don't want that!" Lucy says so sadly, as she is on the brink of crying. "I couldn't stand Natsu losing!" she knows that if Natsu loses, then no one left would be able to stand against the other Phantom mages. Natsu represents the indomitable will of the guild and if he is defeated, there is no hope left. Gajeel cackles happily, enjoying the sound of despair in Lucy's voice and the sight of the unmoving form of the Fire Dragon Slayer.

"Take a look at what's happening to what you're trying to protect!" Gajeel merrily tells the other male. Opening his eyes, Natsu lifts his head a bit to see what Gajeel is talking about. The sight of the giant Shade destroying his home while his friends stand around helpless to stop it sends yet another bolt of rage through the man. Yet, all his magic is used up and no matter how furious he is, he can't muster up the strength to act on it.

Happy and Lucy stares in horror at the destruction that Phantom Lord is causing. Another punch by the giant Shade and the entire guild hall crumbles into a pile of rubble. Gajeel tilts his head back with closed eyes as he laughs in absolute victory at the apparent defeat of the Fairy Tail mages.

Natsu, pushing himself up higher with his hands, looks on in horror at the sight. Unbidden, memories of the first time he came to the guild and more flood through his mind. Even the townsfolk who evacuated to a safer location gasp in horror at the sight of the guild being demolished. Gritting his teeth, Natsu starts to shake with indescribable wrath at the destruction of his home, the friends who been injured, his helplessness.

No longer concerned with how tired and injured he is, Natsu uses the rage within him as fuel to push himself upright until he is standing. Thinking about how each of his family has been physically, mentally, and emotionally tortured by Phantom Lord has spurred his anger into new heights. Slowly, he makes his way towards Gajeel while his friends look on.

"Natsu… Enough, Natsu…" Lucy softly cries out, too emotionally drained to do more. "If… If they have me, then…" she tries to bargain as tears start to form in her eyes. She can't handle seeing him push himself like this, seeing the guild destroyed, and utter despair on the faces of her friends. All of it is tearing her up inside when this entire mess is because she ran away from home.

"Lucy…" Happy calls out to her as he rests a paw on her calf. She looks down to see the little blue cat crying as well with his teeth gritted. "Natsu hasn't given up yet." he continues. Almost trembling from grief, she looks on to watch as Natsu continues to fight.

"Your guild has fallen. You lose!" Gajeel says nonchalantly as he leans against one of the machines lining the wall. Hearing him say this, Natsu bring a fist back with all intentions to punch the gloating Phantom Lord mage right in the face. Before he could strike, Gajeel backhands Natsu in the chest and knocks him further on down the room and into one of the other machines. Natsu slides down from where he landed until he is sitting on the floor, supported by the machine. His head flops forward quickly followed by his body and he crashes face first into the ground.

Lucy completely covers her face as she starts to cry. "Any more of this, and I…" she can't even finish what she is trying to say through the sobs. She doesn't see that Natsu is struggling to push himself up again. Approaching him at a steady pace, Gajeel plans on beating up the other man until he can't even move.

"Stay down already, Salamander." he calls out, starting to get a little annoyed at the tenacity of the pink-haired guy. "I really hate holding back, you see… I don't know what might happen to you." His love of utter dominance over others shines brightly in his eyes, almost as if they are glowing.

"Destroying Jupiter, battling fiercely with the Element 4... He used up too much magic power!" Happy cries out, knowing in his heart that Natsu could win if he fought Gajeel before those other battles. "If only he could eat some flames, Natsu wouldn't lose to anybody!" Happy shouts out, angry at the unfairness of it all.

* * *

I grumble silently to myself at the unfairness of it all. _Dang magically enhanced kids. Able to run with no troubles even with injuries. Don't know how to listen and wait for others as well. Now I got to wander these halls by myself and who knows what all is in this building. Erza and the others better be ok, or Phantom is going to pay. _

I growl low in my throat at the thought of the pain and anguish the girls that I consider my little sisters went through. I almost snarl in devilish delight at all the pain I want to put those two Element 4 mages that took Lucy. _Oh, they will pay… _I finally make it down to the end of another hall when the floor beneath me starts to shake. Already unsteady on my feet, I painfully crash down onto my knees as my stomach feels like its trying to climb up my throat.

The sensation of falling accompanies it, and now panicked, I throw myself to the floor with a cry of pain of hitting my broken nose on the floor. _Please be ok, please be ok, please be ok! _I chant as a mantra in my head. Worried for the rest of my friends and family that are in here, I close my eyes and pray that they will be alright.

Not long after it started, the falling stops with another jarring shake and pieces of the ceiling rain down on me. I stay there, laying on the floor until I'm certain that the building is stable before stiffly and painfully pushing myself upright again.

"Geez, what the hell is going on around here?" I ask myself. Looking around, I find that I'm at a T-intersection and have to choose left or right to continue. As I think of which way to go, a cheerful tone sounds off from somewhere above me. A male voice sounding very pleased with himself starts talking.

"Attention all you from Fairy Tail. Please listen carefully to this voice." he requests in a sing-song manner. A pained filled feminine scream soon sounds out from the system, causing my blood to run cold. I heard that voice earlier when Mira was taken.

I recognize that scream.

"We have captured Lucy. So we have accomplished one of our objectives." the man's voice rings out happily. His voice lowers slightly and becomes gruffer but doesn't lose the note of joy in it, "Thus we have one final goal that remains to be fulfilled. To slaughter the lot of you! Disgusting brats!"

Before the end of the message, I'm shaking in pure unadulterated rage. _How dare they… HOW DARE THEY!_ The raw anger I feel begins to overwhelm me when something makes itself known to me. I don't know what it is, but it feels warm and familiar. I can feel it calling out to me towards the left. I am not sure how I know this, I just do.

It slowly starts to calm me down and I only hesitate for a second before following this feeling. Very far away, I can see an archway that leads to a room. So limping along, I make my way towards the opening and the whatever is calming and calling to me. Before getting very far, the feeling goes away leaving me cold and feeling slightly empty. Getting worried now, I pick up my pace somewhat to try to get to the room sooner.

As I get close to the opening, I can feel shaking and hear booms like explosions coming from the room. Screams of pain and terror from familiar voices coming from within urges me to move faster. My eyes widen as I stumble onto a scene that horrifies me. Some smarmy looking guy is casting magic at Gray and Elfman and is tossing them around like rag dolls.

My gasp catches in my throat as I see Erza charge in headfirst against the guy. She runs quickly towards him, and the guy extends an arm in her direction and a swirling mass of magic blasts out from his palm. Erza's reflexes kick in and she is able to dodge the attacks as she continues her headlong rush towards this enemy. Jumping into the air, she changes into her demonic looking armor that causes me to shudder again at the sight of it.

With an enraged yell, she tries an overhead swing of her sword in an attempt to strike the guy. Unfortunately, he was able to dodge nimbly to the side, completely avoiding her attack. A quick change in grip and Erza turns the overhead slice into a horizontal one that aims for his neck. He ducks quickly and grabs onto Erza's arms before she can mount another attack.

Erza just stands there like she is frozen. Awe and worry start building up in me again while seeing her like this. _Even when injured badly she can still move like this... she is amazing. She's like Xena! _The ever-present smile on the guy's face becomes slightly crazed. With a powerful throw, he tosses Erza into the air and away from him.

Using a piece of rubble as a step, she is able to recover from the toss and not suffer any more wounds as of yet. I let out the breath I was holding in relief that she isn't injured any more than she already is. Flipping in mid-air, she lands lightly on the ground in a kneeling position. Calmly, they both stand back up with the mystery guy looking quite bored with the exchange and Erza looking quite angry.

"You." He says in a bored tone to match his expression. "I'm pretty sure you took a direct hit from Jupiter," he states. A hint of irritation can be heard in his voice when he asks, "How is it you can stand?"

"My friends strengthen my heart!" Erza proclaims loudly as she holds her sword in an outstretched hand, unwavering. "For those that I love… I'd throw away this body!" she declares in utmost certainty. _Man, if only I can understand what they are saying. But whatever it is, Erza sure is looking confident despite it all. I'm so proud to be her friend._

"Strong, courageous, beautiful… It will be such a pleasure to destroy you, girl!" he cries out with a manic expression now on his face. As they are at a standstill, I look over to study this guy on the floor in front of me. Kinda tall, with red blackish hair in a high ponytail, ugly long face, eyebrows and mustache that reminds me of a spider, and a blue military-like outfit.

_ His voice… I recognize it from the speakers. He was there as Lucy was getting hurt! _The anger surges up inside of me, faster and more powerful than before. Its almost like its taking on a life of its own.

My vision begins to turn red as I growl loudly in fury towards him, "Leave Erza alone asshole!" His head barely turns to study me as I stand there holding onto an archway for support.

"What's this?" he asks, unconcerned. "Another piece of trash that needs to be taken out?" I stand there still snarling at this monster in front of me. _I don't know who he is, but he is definitely at least partly responsible for these atrocities against my friends. _Without warning the entire building starts shaking again. _What the hell is going on?_ My knees, which were already unsteady, give way and I fall painfully onto them again. I let out a hiss and hold onto the archway for balance until the building stops shaking.

"Our dragons have run quite amuck." the smarmy git says, surprisingly clearly despite the noise. _Now if only I can understand what he is saying..._ Below, Erza is standing with her sword held up in both of her hands while breathing heavily.

"It doesn't seem like you accounted for Natsu's battle strength. He is just as powerful as I, if not more so!" Erza pants out. I perk up at hearing Natsu's name. _Is he doing this? Seriously? Damn, I figured he was strong, but to make this big hunk of stone shake like this? And he wants to get _stronger_!? _I almost whistle my appreciation at the display of my roommate's strength. Erza changes the position of her sword as she spoke, now having the point aim right at the smarmy guy's waist.

"Enough with the modesty, Titania Erza. Your magical power is indeed amazing. I have never met a wizard who could hold out against me for so long." says Smarmy as he lifts a hand up to shoulder height with his palm facing the ceiling. _So he knows who Erza is, but why did he call her Titania? I thought her last name was Scarlet? _The shaking within the building slows down until only faint rumbles are heard. I let out the breath I been holding in, glad that the place isn't falling apart yet.

"If you hadn't taken damage from Jupiter, I suspect we may have had a better match." Smarmy continues. _I caught that one, Jupiter. What does the largest planet in the solar system have to do with this? _

"I can't stand Makarov having a wizard this powerful in his or in any other guild." Smarmy goes on. _This guy likes to talk, and I think I heard him say Makarov. What about our Master is he saying? _I unsteadily get up off the ground, sighing slightly in relief at getting off my knees. I watch as Smarmy closes his hand in a fist and brings it over in Erza's direction.

I feel a sense of dread at that action and I can't help but shout out, "Erza! Look out!" Smarmy looks my way with a look of displeasure and I give him another snarl in return. Erza uses this distraction to charge right at Smarmy, but before she gets close he extends a finger and something small whizzes forward and knocks her back all the way across the room.

"Erza!" I shout out in fear. _Xena or not, she is still heavily injured! _A cloud of dust hides her from view as I feel my throat constrict with worry over her wellbeing. Smarmy's voice catches my attention again.

"Do you understand why I didn't finish Makarov off before.?" _Ok, now I'm sure he mentioned Makarov. _Smarmy's fist opens and five small purple orbs form at the tip of each finger. Those orbs don't look right and the feeling of dread in my gut increases. The orbs grow in size as he keeps talking and I can see swirls of black laced within the bright purple. _That magic just looks... wrong. I don't know why, but that's how I feel. _

The ground in random areas in front of Smarmy suddenly explode like something invisible has hit it, and Erza jumps up out of the cratered wall where she was in what would be an impossibly high jump if not for magic.

The maroon-haired man raises his hand to follow Erza as he shouts, "Despair!" _He said that like it was some sort of attack. _Just after he shouts, the wall just above a stained glass window exploded just where Erza was less than a second ago. _Oh shit, it was!_

Erza lands on the ground closer to Smarmy before jumping sideways closer to where I am. I was just able to make out a small purple lightning bolt arc from Smarmy's hand to the ground just where Erza landed before her jump towards me. More dust explodes up and obscures my vision of what is happening.

"Be careful, Erza!" I yell out at her as I lean further into the room. She looks over at me and nods before jumping out of the way of another blast that I could feel the wind from. The magic blasting out of Smarmy's hand gets brighter and more noticeable the more he uses it. I feel my rage start growing by leaps and bounds when I see that as he follows Erza's movements, that he has no qualms about hitting my friends who are laying comatose on the ground.

"It was to put him in despair!" Smarmy's voice sounds out in the building and his attacks against Erza stop. I aim my glare at him. "When he wakes up and sees his beloved guild and beloved guild members destroyed... How will he feel?"

Smarmy pauses to chuckle before continuing, "Crestfallen, I'm sure." As the air clears of dust, I see Erza standing sideways to offer Smarmy a smaller target to hit while aiming her sword at him with one hand. I can see a look of anger on her face at Smarmy's words. _What did that rat bastard say? _Something in his demeanor changes and instinctively, I press myself closer to the archway. I shake in anger feeling the need to do something to help, but I don't know what I can do.

"I will destroy that man with despair and sadness that is never-ending. I will not let him rest! He'll suffer, and suffer and suffer some more... Until the end of his days!" Smarmy declares, his voice lowering and becoming more harsh and menacing. _What is he threatening? _A flash of red passes in front of me to show Erza charging at Smarmy again.

"You villain!" she cries out. _She sounds mad, what the hell did he say!? _She slashes at him and I feel my eyes widen. _Where the hell did he vanish to? Magic lets you teleport as well? _The redhead stands motionless at the spot where she slashed her sword. I look around and gasp as the image of Smarmy fades into view from behind Erza.

"Phantom Lord was always the number 1 guild. We had the most powerful magic, the most talented people, and the most money in the country. But in these past few years, Fairy Tail has suddenly gotten powerful. Erza, Laxus, Mystogan... Those names were heard even in our city, and rumors of Salamander spread throughout the country. And at some point suddenly Phantom Lord and Fairy Tail became the _two_ signature guilds of this country." Smarmy says all this with the same damn calm tones as most everything he is saying, and I can't help but feel that I'm missing some important information here.

Smarmy's voice becomes harsher as he says, "I don't like it. Especially when your guild was once crappy and weak!" to Erza. That tone leaves a real bad feeling in my mouth. Fear for my friends wars with my anger of what he and his buddies have done to my friends. My focus was burning a hole in Smarmy's back, so when Erza suddenly flashes in front of him to slash her sword, I jerk back in surprise. _Good god, she is fast!_

"Silence!" she shouts out. and I'm left in awe at how fast these two are. _Is this just their honest to god speed, or is this something augmented by magic? If I'm stuck in this world long enough, would I too get to be this fast and strong? _Smarmy stops on top of a rubble pile with Erza standing below him in a defiant manner with her sword point still aimed at him. I hear the anger in her voice and my own anger grows with it. _Whatever the bastard said, it wasn't good._

"Are you saying you started this war all because of some petty jealousy?!" she angrily calls out. Smarmy's facial expression hardly changes, but suddenly I get this feeling that he is looking down at Erza like she is a piece of trash that he, a king, is granting her a high honor by talking to her. This attitude riles me up even more and I can feel my stomach burning from my pent up rage. Something also tells me that this guy has some sort of insanity issues and my mind urges me to be cautious even though my heart is telling me to tear this man apart.

"Jealousy? Of course not! I wanted to show everyone our superiority!" Smarmy says in a way that just makes me snarl. _I do not like this man. _I keep an eye on his upraised hand, wary of what other types of magic he could use with it.

"What a... what a worthless reason!" Erza almost growls out before she jumps in Smarmy's direction. His face loses that annoying smile and I stand by that archway grinding my teeth. _If only I was able to call upon some magic! I might be able to help, even something small. If I could distract that guy just long enough..._

I can barely see Erza's movements, yet Smarmy is able to dodge her blows effortlessly. My eyes narrow when I notice something. _That piece of... His eyes are closed and he is still dodging her strikes!? How crazy powerful is he?! _Erza's movements become even more of a blur and I'm left feeling in awe of her speed and swordsmanship. _I got to get her to teach me..._ Smarmy is still dodging all of her strikes and not a single scratch appears on his form. I grit my teeth in frustration at this.

At one point when she lunges past him, he throws out his hand and a spray of purple magic spews out. Her sword gets knocked out of her hands and my breath is caught in my throat. A magic circle appears in front of Smarmy and three creepily laughing black skulls shoot out with trails of purple magic. They wrap around Erza's form and constrict around her. Her scream makes my heart twist painfully as red lightning sparks out from the magic surrounding her.

"ERZA!" the scream tears out of my throat at her pain. Fear for her overriding everything else. The smug look on Smarmy's face leaves a distinctly unpleasant taste in my mouth.

"I've long had a distaste for your guild, so the trigger to go to war was but a trifle. A request to return the first daughter of the Heartfilia Konzern," he says looking overly confident. As my anger grows, I can feel my hands shaking. My body feels like its overheating and I my vision starts to turn red again.

He continues, "A daughter of one of the richest families in the country in Fairy Tail? How big must you get before you're satisfied?!" His voice gets harsh at the end and he slightly lunges towards the trapped redhead. The lightning increases and so does Erza's screams. _I have to do something..._

My mind almost blank with rage, I roar out, "STOP! Let Erza go you smarmy bastard!" Smarmy turns to look at me in displeasure, and before I know it, my hand releases the rock that I didn't realize that I picked up. Slowly I start to move forward into the room. I'm shaking so hard that I'm in danger of falling over. Smarmy's eyes narrow at my approach.

"Your guild is filled with nothing but pests. Every time one is crushed, more show up out of the woodworks," he says almost dispassionately.

"KRYSTI! Get out of here!" Erza shouts out while struggling against the magical bonds. For me everything is muffled, so even if I could understand I wouldn't be able to hear. Everything within me is so hot that I feel like I'm about to melt, but I don't care. Only the safety of my friends and the maiming of this guy in front of me matters. As he turns to look at me more, his hand moves forward and I see Erza screaming once more.

Too much.

There was too much heat in me and seeing Erza scream once again in pain has made something snap within me. My heat inside becomes heat outside of my body. My head lifts and my eyes close involuntarily. The heat I'm feeling doesn't hurt, but it continues to get hotter as my fury of the entire situation increases. _I have to tear this guy and his cohorts apart to protect my friends. _That is the only thought in my mind until I lose consciousness.

* * *

Back on the beach, the members of Fairy Tail who are fighting to protect the guild hall stop their fighting as fire bursts out of the robot on the beach. They look on in awe as the fire pours out of every opening like there is an inferno set off in every room of Phantom's guild hall. The fire spreads and almost covers the entirety of the building and figures can be seen jumping into the ocean. The fire lasts about 30 seconds before it tapers off, leaving a partly charred building behind.

"What in heaven's name is Natsu doing?" Macao mutters to himself before he sends out another attack against the giant shade. The rest of the guild shakes off the awe at the fiery display and get their minds back to protecting what's left of their home.

* * *

Just as Happy's cries of despair end, a whooshing noise quickly roars to life causing everyone in the room to stop what they are doing. Gajeel, who is holding Natsu up by his ever-present scarf, looks around in annoyance.

"Now what?" he spits out, getting more than irritated that something is keeping him from absolute victory. Before anyone could answer, a wave of fire shoots into the room and completely engulfs it. The regular Phantom mages are screaming in pain as the fire burns them and there is no cover to protect them from the flames.

Lucy and Happy both scream out as the fire surrounds them as well, but soon stop as they realize that there is no pain. For them, it feels like a warm summer breeze. They look on in awe as the flames dance around licking at everything but there they stand, unharmed.

The roar of the fire doesn't drown out the cries of agony from the others who are being burnt and Lucy shudders at the terrible noise. With her vision obscured, she doesn't see that when the flames swarmed into the room, Gajeel dropped Natsu to bring an arm around to protect his face.

"I don't know what you did Salamander, but these measly flames aren't going to pierce through my armor!" Gajeel cackles in victory, the light of the fire enhancing the crazed look in his eyes. A different whooshing noise is heard and the fire clears out of the room. Lucy and Gajeel look to where the sound is coming from and they see tendrils of fire going right into Natsu's mouth.

Most of the fire is gone from the room by the time Natsu stops eating. His stomach bulges from how much of the flames he inhaled before just as quickly going back to normal. He lets his head hang down while he stands with a very wide stance as he lets the flames revitalize his supply of magic.

"That hit the spot," he says after letting out a happy chuckle. As the fire restores the pink-haired man's energy you can see his fatigue lifting. Realizing what is going on, Gajeel makes a mad dash towards Natsu in hopes of being able to put the beat down on him again before the Fire Dragon Slayer can attack.

"Don't get all full of yourself just cause you ate some fire!" he shouts out in frustration. Quite upset that his moment of complete victory has very well been snatched away from him, Gajeel leaps into the air and throws a punch aimed at Natsu's head. Just as it nears contact, Natsu turns his head to give the Iron Dragon Slayer a pissed off look. Within a split second, before Gajeel's fist makes contact, Natsu throws an uppercut in the larger male's direction and he is enveloped by flames.

"All right!" Lucy cheers out in happiness. Glad that her friend is finally able to truly show off his power.

"Now he's at full power!" Happy also cheers, confident in Natsu's ability to kick ass. The power from that full powered flame punch knocks Gajeel into a house-sized piece of debris leaving a sizeable dent in it. Not only did Natsu's punch make Gajeel's body dent the stone, but it _pushes_ the stone back as well.

Lucy lets out a horrified gasp as the dragon slayer's fight brings them close to the Phantom mages that were still in the room. Or rather what was left of them. They look like lifeless husks, blackened beyond recognition. Seeing this causes a shudder of fear to go through her body at the thought of something powerful enough to do this to people. Natsu's voice drags her attention away from the unmoving forms of the Phantom mages.

"Levy, Jet, Droy, Gramps, Lucy, Krysti, my friends, and Fairy Tail..." Natsu says solemnly, the same pissed off look still on his face as he hasn't moved since he punched Gajeel.

"Roar of the Iron Dragon!" the dark-haired man shouts out as he plans to mow down the Fire Dragon Slayer with another spray of metal. Natsu turns his body to brings both of his hands up to block the attack. The light catches his eyes to give them a demonic red shine just before the attack hits. After a few seconds of letting the attack hit him, Natsu throws his arms into the air in such a way that it breaks off the breath attack.

"No way! He deflected my breath with just his bare hands?" Shock and confusion run rampant through the Phantom Lord Dragon Slayer. Never has anyone he ever fought come close to that amount of power. Natsu stands there as the wind leftover from the breath attack whips the ends of his scarf around. He may be battered, bleeding, and bruised, but he stands tall and confident, knowing that soon the battle will be over.

"How much do you gotta hurt others before you people are satisfied?" the Fire Dragon Slayer asks calmly. The light reflecting off of his eyes glow ruby red with his magic and shows the anger barely hidden beneath his calm exterior.

"Impossible! I couldn't...To someone like him... To trash like him..." the Iron Dragon Slayer trails off, not wanting to admit defeat even though he knows deep down that he is about to have his ass handed to him. His senses are reeling that a weak mage as the Salamander was just a moment ago could suddenly be so much more powerful after eating fire.

Gajeel, who believed that all of Fairy Tail was completely weak and pathetic, is having a hard time coping the there are mages who are stronger than him. HIM! The only mage he ever met that was stronger than him was the leader of his guild who is a wizard saint! So how can there be others who are even stronger? How?!

At a slow walk, the pink-haired man slowly makes his way to his opponent. Magic in the form of fire explodes out from Natsu as his rage bubbles back to the surface and shows on his face. Lips curl back with a snarl to reveal all of his fangs, veins throbbing on his forehead, eyes wider than ever as his pupil shrink. If it wasn't for the fact that Natsu doesn't kill, Gajeel would have been literally ripped to pieces from Natsu's rage.

"I'm going to pay you back for everything! I'll show you that picking a fight with Fairy Tail was a mistake!" the Fire Dragon Slayer calls out, his voice getting lower and more gravelly which makes it all the more menacing. Lucy silently nods her agreement with Natsu's words. Phantom has brought them so much pain for no valid reason at all that a lesson needed to be taught.

She looks on, arms crossed and with hardened eyes at what is about to happen. At hearing Natsu's words, Gajeel felt a stab of anger. That last punch must of been a fluke, there is no way that a pathetic weakling like Salamander could ever beat a top-notch wizard like him.

"Who the hell do you think I am? You trash!" Gajeel shouts his frustration out as his magic explodes around him with a bright green glow not unlike how Natsu's fire is surrounding him. Without warning he launches himself into the air, aiming to lay a beat down on the other dragon slayer.

"Hard First of the Iron Dragon!" the larger males shouts out as he cocks back a fist to knock the piece of Fairy trash off his high horse. Natsu lifts his fist up to meet Gajeel's head on and surprisingly, Salamander's fist isn't covered by magic. The shockwave from their fist colliding causes sparks to fly in the air. As if reading the other's mind, they both activate their magic while their fists are still connected. A huge shock of pain spider webs up Gajeel's arm as his defensive scales start cracking from the pressure of Natsu's magic.

_ I am... the strongest... _Gajeel thinks, not wanting to admit even in his own mind as his biggest advantage in the battle is breaking up. Flames almost pure white wrap around Natsu's body as he lets his rage fuel his magic.

"This is the end for you!" the Fire Dragon Slayer grounds out in that same low, gravelly voice from before. "Blazing Fire Dragon Fist!" Natsu roars out as he cocks back his other fist and those white flames surround it. Before Gajeel can even blink, Natsu has already rammed his fist into the larger males face and it knocks him back. Jets of fire hit Gajeel like sledgehammers and they keep hitting him continuously. The Iron Dragon Slayer is getting hit so hard and so fast that he is just floating in the air as he is being pummeled by Natsu's magic.

"This is for Levy, Jet, Droy, Nab, Macao, Gramps, Erza, Lucy, and Krysti!" Natsu shouts out and lands one last punch on the Phantom Lord mage. Gajeel flies up into the air before landing hard on the ground halfway across the room. He is knocked almost unconscious, unable to stand up against the force of the enraged Fire Dragon Slayer. Natsu's flame surrounds him in a fiery display of dominance over the other dragon slayer as he lets out a dragon's roar of victory.

"And this is for destroying our guild!" He roars out, not completely done with the mage. He throws another punch and his fire shoots out in jets to pummel the other dragon slayer some more. As Natsu continues to thrash Gajeel and sends him flying around like a rag doll, he also intentionally destroys the building they are in.

The damage is so intense that even José's Shades, who broke apart from the giant Shade to attack the wizards again, stop their attack to watch the damage to the guildhall. If the member's of Fairy Tail were impressed by the display of fire exploding out of the giant, they are even more in awe at this. Finally finished beating up Gajeel to make his point, Natsu lets him fly over a pile of rubble and out of sight. As more holes open up in the giant on the beach, the members below recognize the light of the magic escaping from it.

It's the fire of Natsu, Fairy Tail's very own Fire Dragon Slayer. Despite all the trauma, mental and physical, that the members left on the beach had to face, their friends came through. The odds were stacked against the Fairy Tail mages, but with the strength of their friendship and trust within one another, they have pulled through.

They have won.

As they cheer for their friend, the head of the giant slips down to crash into the ocean below, exposing most of the damage within the room the two dragon slayers battled to the sun above.

"Natsu!" Lucy shouts out while looking for the fire mage in the rubble. As soon as it started getting dangerous to be within the guild hall, Happy picked up the blonde and whisked her high into the air where it was safe.

"Natsu!" Happy also calls out, wanting to find where his best friend is at.

"Natsu!" Lucy calls out again before she sees the pink-haired dragon slayer standing at the edge of a drop and looking down to where Gajeel has landed on a floor below.

"Natsu won!" cries out Happy in happiness.

"That d-damn... tra..." is all the Phantom dragon slayer can say before he passes out completely. Gajeel's scales have been obliterated showing how bruised and beaten up he really is.

"Now... we're even," Natsu says wearily just as he falls backward to rest from the insane amount of magic that he let loose in such a short amount of time.

"Natsu!" Lucy cries out in worry as she sees him fall to the floor flat on his back.

He cracks open an eye and with a lopsided grin, looks up at the blonde before saying, "I can't move right now..." Happy and Lucy just floats there in the air looking down at Natsu with a smile on their faces, glad that this battle is finally over.

"Sheesh, you really overdo it. You know that?" Lucy asks him as Happy flies them closer to the dragon slayer. Tears of relief and happiness form in her eyes as she looks fondly upon her friend.

With a giant grin on his face, Happy confirms, "Aye! He's Natsu all right!" In response, the pink-haired man closes his eyes and grins as wide as he can, happy that his friends and family are finally safe. He chuckles lightly, glad that it is all over and that he properly paid back Phantom Lord for the assaults on his home. Lucy and Happy laugh along with him, their hearts and minds no longer burdened by the oppressive shadow of their defeat.

Unfortunately, they forget about one last player in the battle against Phantom Lord. The strongest one of them all.

José.

* * *

RoboticGaming asks: Where is the second OC? You know the boy in the first chapter.

**Well, the boy from the first chapter isn't an OC. Also, he has already made an appearance in the story. I'll be making it more obvious who it is as the story progresses. And for those who don't guess it, I do have planned to outright answer that in a later chapter.**


	10. Chapter 10

Previously:

_ There was too much heat in me and seeing Erza scream once again in pain has made something snap within me. My heat inside becomes heat outside of my body. My head lifts and my eyes close involuntarily. The heat I'm feeling doesn't hurt, but it continues to get hotter as my fury of the entire situation increases. I have to tear this guy and his cohorts apart to protect my friends. That is the only thought in my mind until I lose consciousness._

_#####_

_ He chuckles lightly, glad that it is all over and that he properly paid back Phantom Lord for the assaults on his home. Lucy and Happy laugh along with him, their hearts and minds no longer burdened by the oppressive shadow of their defeat._

_ Unfortunately, they forget about one last player in the battle against Phantom Lord. The strongest one of them all. _

_ José._

* * *

Ezra stares in shock as her heavily injured friend bursts into flames. She almost screams in panic, thinking that José somehow set Krysti on fire. Yet the look of shock on his face showed that it wasn't him who did it. _She finally released her magic. _Erza thinks before José and she were caught up in the conflagration. The red-head closes her eyes as the flames wash over her. Almost instantly her eyes snap open at the gentle warmth caressing her.

"Warm?" she mummers to herself, momentarily forgetting that she is being held captive as the pain ebbs away. The smell of smoke catches her off guard. How can something be burning from just that gentle warmth of Krysti's fire? It's an impressive display with how large the fire is, but the strength in the flames are lacking. It's no surprise since it is the woman's first time releasing her magic. Very few wizards have a strong display of magic the first time it manifests itself.

The flames _look_ strong. They surround her to the point to where she can't even see José, and they are definitely bright. Erza is certain with time, Krysti would become quite the powerful fire mage, as strong or even stronger than Natsu is right now. The smell of smoke grows stronger and this worries Erza. What if it's the older woman who is burning? It doesn't happen often, but sometimes fire mages can lose control of their fire and burn themselves. The flames start to die down and the glimpses of the room surrounding the redhead leave her startled.

Charred.

The white and grey stone of the room is scorched until most of it is black. The battered red carpet is burnt into a black smoldering mess; even José himself hasn't escaped the fire unscathed. His lip is curled into a sneer as his singed clothes have small wisps of smoke coming from it. A thump pulls Erza's attention away from the room and she looks over to where her friend is. Krysti lays unconscious on the ground in a heap. Even her clothes suffered from the fire.

"Krysti!" she shouts out in concern, hoping the brunette would stir to let her know if she is okay.

She didn't move.

"Pathetic pest. She deserves to suffer a slow death." Jose says in a deadly calm voice as he lifts his other hand in the direction of the fallen woman.

"José! Don't you dare harm her!" Erza commands with all the dignity that she can muster in her position. José spares her a glance, his grin widening in a manic way.

"You think you can dictate what I can or cannot do? I am the leader of Phantom Lord, one of the Ten Wizard Saints. A mere peon like you has no right to even think of telling me what to do. I'll show all you in Fairy Tail and in this country that Phantom Lord is the superior guild even if I have to kill each and every one of you myself. And I think I'll start with this unsightly pest." José almost growls out that last sentence, his eyes blazing with anger. A magic circle activates in front of his hand and Erza starts struggling harder within her bonds.

"Die." José calmly says just before the sound of thunder rings throughout the room and it becomes lit up with a bright light. José magic fades and Erza is covered by a white glow. She gasps in surprise as she feels not only some of her energy returning, but even her armor is being repaired.

"This is..." Erza mumbles in wonderment. As the white glow dissipates around her, she floats gently down to the floor from where José has been holding her up with his magic. As her feet touch down, she allows herself to collapse onto her knees. She can feel the heat in the stones and it confuses her why they are so warm to the touch. José's arms lower back down to his sides as he watches Erza descend. He looks up to see the source of the light and his face, which was in a crazed grin, settles back into a look of neutral indifference.

The light shining into the room from the broken windows is just enough to obscure the features of the short figure slowly floating down to the top of a large rubble pile. The face may be hidden, but only one person with a magical presence that strong is that small.

Makarov.

By some stroke of luck, he was able to recover his magic in time to come and fight against the leader of Phantom Lord. He was there when Krysti's magic manifested itself in the explosion of fire. He feels proud and worried at the same time. Proud that she was able to tap into her magic and release it an effort to protect her friends. But he is also worried that she has used too much of her magic and may be in a dangerous situation not unlike his just less than an hour before.

At José's words of not just harming his children, but killing them, Makarov knew it was time to step in. He cast a special healing spell to help his children rejuvenate their magic at a faster pace, hoping they would wake up. It was heartbreaking to see them all laying passed out on the ground like they were broken dolls.

As he floats down to confront José for his heinous actions, Makarov closes his eyes to keep the inner rage from controlling him and makes him lose his cool. He needs to have the utmost focus for this battle with José. Seeing Makarov appear was a shock at first, but José quickly overcomes that fleeting feeling. He realizes that now he has a chance to not only defeat the Fairy Tail master but make him suffer even more.

Without realizing it, an ugly smirk appears on José's face. The disbelief that has kept Erza still, grows more so when she turns just enough to see Makarov's silhouette above her. It's incredible that not only has he recovered but to the point to where it doesn't seem like he was almost at death's door such a short time ago.

"Much blood has been spilled. Children's blood. Because of their parent's failure, the children have suffered and shed tears. Enough of this feud between us two." Makarov intones solemnly in a formal way that he only reserves for the most serious of occasions. Erza looks at the man who is like a father to her with relief evident in her expression.

The white light of the spell Makarov cast wears off as he finishes with a harsher voice, "We must put this to an end!" His eyes snap open during this to reveal a glare aimed right at the master of Phantom Lord. Erza forces herself to stand up as she wipes away tears of happiness at seeing Makarov back to full health.

"Master!" she calls out softly, almost overwhelmed by her relief. With the Master here, Fairy Tail now has a fighting chance to win this unsanctioned war. The two guild masters stand there in silence, glaring at each other. While one is glaring with hatred and jealousy, the other glares with a righteous fury and the need to protect his loved ones.

Without saying a word, José lifts up his hand towards his chest and makes a fist. Purple light glows about him and the whites of his eyes turn black while the pupils turn a pale yellow. Small rocks start to fly up into the air from the pressure of his magic alone. His expression and aura just ooze malice despite the ridiculous way his face looks. As he squints his eyes, it just gives him more of a look of a demented panda. If the situation wasn't so dire, it would be hysterical.

"You wish to cause a disaster?" José growls out in an almost gleeful way. The veins on Makarov forehead throb as he clenches his fists at José's words. He settles into a more balanced stance to ready himself for combat. A flash of light and a yellow magical orb appears on the end of Makarov's index finger.

His cloak flaps around him from the wind generated by the sheer intensity of his magical power. The Master lifts his finger up in front of his face before swinging his arm back in preparation to launch the baseball-sized orb towards José. The fury in his eyes greatly evident.

"If it's for the sake of my guild!" Makarov shouts out in reply to José's challenge. The wind from the magical pressure of the two wizards whips around in the room in a frenzy as the two stare at each other. Before the intense staring contest between the two guild leaders, two of the four fallen fairies slowly wake up as their magic returns.

"What is this warm, familiar magical power?" Gray asks himself as he struggles to lift his head. The sight that greets him, leaves him speechless. Erza and the Master are standing in defiance in front of José. The sickly purple magic used by José forms into an orb before it splits into the three skulls that imprisoned Erza just moments ago.

They rush out to capture Makarov who in response, casts several magical circle shields to block the attack. As he blocks, the Fairy Tail master jumps off the large pile of rubble to land in front of Erza. The red-head gapes at the increased amount of magic power José is throwing out. It makes what he was using against her a mere trifling.

"Get everyone away from here!" Makarov commands of the female S-class wizard without breaking eye contact with the crazed leader of Phantom Lord. Gray and Elfman get back on their feet with some difficulty, the battles they have fought today taking their toll. They look on in awe at the power exuding from the two Wizard Saints.

They also take in the sight of the blackened walls and floor of the room. Like there was a massive fire that broke out. It leaves them wondering what exactly happened after they passed out?

"Master!" Gray calls out, unhappy that he is ordered to retreat and leave the old man alone.

"Why is he here?" Elfman asks more to himself than anything. It's shocking to see someone so close to death to be fighting so soon and so strongly.

Erza turns to face the males as she barks out, "Do as he says!" She banks on the Phantom Lord Master being too focused on taking out Makarov to pay attention to her as she leaves the safety of the shield to go to the fallen brunette. The guy's eyes widen in shock at her move, and the breath leaves their lungs like they are punched in the gut when they see where Erza is headed.

"Why is she here?" Gray asks of himself in a breathless whisper.

"What happened to Krysti, her clothes are completely burnt!?" Elfman shouts out in surprise. And Gray is snapped out of his shock to see that yes, it is true, her clothes are completely burnt to a crisp. Even the bandages that were covering her wounds are blackened. As Erza start to pick up the larger woman with a pained grunt, the burnt clothes and bandages start falling off in bits and pieces.

As she rushes back to the safety of the shield and her friends, the guys begin to blush heavily. In Erza's mad rush to hurry back, most of the brunette's clothes and bandages were whisked away by the wind. The coverings weren't just burnt to a crisp, they were completely ashen.

To help keep her modesty, Gray goes to take off his shirt only to realize that he lost his shirt, again. The blush on his face increases as he tries not to look at the now quite exposed body of his friend. Elfman coughs as he too looks away before taking his shirt off. He walks over to the two females while keeping his gaze aimed towards the ceiling.

He offers the shirt to Erza while saying gruffly, "It is Man to help protect the modesty of a woman." As soon as his shirt leaves his hand, he turns his back to help with protecting Krysti's modesty. Gray can't help but peek as Erza pulls the surprising well fitting, although long, shirt over the brunette. Mira by this point has already awoken and thumps Gray on the back of his head when she sees him peeking. His face turns even redder at being caught.

"Let's go," Erza commands once she gets the shirt on Krysti. She lifts the woman up, holding her upright with one arm wrapped around her waist and holding the brunette's arm over the redhead's shoulder. Elfman helps his sister to stand and they go to leave the room. Gray jerks with a start as he quickly moves over to Krysti's other side to help hold her up and ease the strain on Erza.

During this quick retrieval of their fallen guild mate, José stopped attacking Makarov and in turn, Makarov lowers the shield, although the glowing yellow orb at the tip of his finger has only grown bigger in size.

"Now that you are here, I have no need for the small-fry. Don't worry. I'll finish them off later, of course." José calls out cockily. He is confident in his youth and strength to be able to finish off the Fairy Tail guild all on his own, especially with them all run down from the battle against his obviously more powerful guild.

"We trust in the Master to be able to finish this war," Erza states confidently as she and the other four leave the Phantom guildhall through a hole in an outside wall.

"It's been 6 years since we've last faced each other, hasn't it? And Fairy Tail has grown so much in that time. But it's been destroyed now, hasn't it?" José says conversationally before chuckling happily as he widens his stance. Makarov moves to change his position to a better angle and the yellow orb, now the size of a cantaloupe, emits a bright white light. His glare has intensified at José's words, Makarov's rage is bubbling closer to the surface.

"A guild is not a building. It's a union between people!" Makarov shouts out as he lunges forward with his arm swinging around to start casting a spell with the pale yellow orb. His hand moves erratically and each change of direction left a smaller pale yellow orb hanging in the air around the Fairy Tail master's body. Each floating orb is connected by a line of the same color.

"But I'm so happy." José says almost in a whine before he continues, "I get to establish the order of superiority among the Wizard Saints." As he finishes speaking his magic surges up again for another attack. At the same time, Makarov's magic also surges to prepare to counterattack.

"I really owe everything to my kids! You've all done well. Be proud to be part of Fairy Tail!" the Master of Fairy Tail yells out, knowing that those four can hear him even though he wishes they would hurry and get away. Unseen by those inside the robot, a sphere of pale white light surrounds the robotic guildhall. The power of the magic is strong enough that the ocean water lifts up and swirls around the sphere.

Above, the clouds are spiraled and from the center, a blue lightning bolt hits the guildhall dead on before more lightning flashes around the pale sphere. Despite Natsu's victory, the Shades controlled by José has yet to stop attacking the members still on the beach. It wasn't enough that the guildhall, their home, was destroyed. José has to take out the remaining Fairy Tail mages as well. As they battle on against the never ending army, their attention is caught once again by something happening to the giant robot.

Some of the more tired mages fall down as the ground starts shaking without warning. The mages on the beach are scared and confused by what is going on inside Phantom Lord's guildhall. The cause of the shaking is the clashing of Makarov's and José's magic. Both are engulfed by their magic and are pushing against one another. The amount pouring out of them as they fight for dominance actually lifts the two off of their feet as if they are flying.

And they are only using one hand.

At the same time, both the guild leaders gather magic in their other hand to lash out at one another while not giving up their battle to overwhelm the other. Explosions of light flash across the room and both guild leaders land a magical hit on the other, knocking each other back.

"Dead Wave!" José cries out as he gathers magic into a bright purple ball within his hand as he recovers from the blow. With a wave of his hand, he launches it towards Makarov who blocks it with a shield of bright, almost white light. The blast is so strong that the pale sphere around the guildhall disappears and the purple encompasses it instead. Red lightning shoots out from the purple magic as the sphere swiftly grows in size. It bursts into streams of purple magic that is so bright it almost turns white.

The water surrounding the guildhall blasts upwards into large waves as more red lightning dances in the grey sky. The shockwave from the explosion almost knocks down some of the mages fighting on the beach. Inside the room the two guild leaders are fighting in, dust and soot envelop the room, obscuring everything. The magical attacks cease as they both wait for the dark mixture to settle. José stands proudly, certain that the old man at the very least has been injured if not killed from the powerful attack.

He flinches back when Makarov bursts through a dusty soot cloud with three magic circles surrounding his sides as a shield. The circles turn and face José in an upside-down triangle as a white light admits from Makarov's hands. He holds them up in front of his face in a triangular shape and the white light strengthens in brilliance until everything but him fades out into a bright white canvas. He lets out a wordless shout and the light becomes a beam aimed right at the Phantom Lord guild master.

The blast engulfed José and covered the guildhall in a light so intense that it burned brighter than the sun. The Fairy Tail members on the beach and even the people of Magnolia had to shield their eyes from that light or risk going blind. The shockwaves from that attack were strong enough that it even knocked Natsu off of the floor from where he was resting. He lets out a startled yell as he finds himself falling through the air. Happy has yet to let Lucy out of his grasp as he flies around and is not able to catch the dragon slayer.

"Are you okay?" Lucy cries out to Natsu, worried about him being injured even more from that sudden fall.

"But what was that?" Happy asks worriedly. In response, a face-splitting grin show's up on the dragon slayer's face. He looks as happy as if someone told him he can eat as much as he wants free-of-charge. Lucy looks at his joyful expression feeling perplexed, not knowing what could be causing it.

"This is Gramps' magic, no doubt about it!" he tells her cheerfully. His spirits are higher now that the knowledge of the old man is back to fighting form.

The room the two guild leaders are fighting in is in a much worse shape than before. After that blast, most of the room is destroyed and is barely holding up. Both the guild masters land lightly on the ground, undisturbed by the unstable flooring.

"Impressive. Such magical power, and yet so young. You do have what it takes to bear the title of Wizard Saint. If you had used that power for good and became a role-model for the younger generation, you would have led the magic world to its future..." Makarov says in a grand voice before getting interrupted. As the old man spoke, José just gave him a glare of disapproval until he was tired of hearing the old guild master talk.

"You're lecturing me, aren't you?" José interrupts with a smugly amused sneer.

"As is Fairy Tail tradition, I shall count to three before rendering judgment upon you." Makarov cuts back in with a louder and more impatient voice. At hearing those words, as if he was naught but a small child, José's sneer twisted into a hateful frown.

"Beg for mercy." Makarov almost hisses out, his disdain for Jose displayed clearly on his features. José lets out a taunting laugh to show that he held no fear over the old man's threats.

"One!" Makarov shouts out fiercely.

"I wondered what you'd say. But this?" the Phantom Lord master sneers again, closing his eyes to show that he wasn't falling for this bluff. "Beg for mercy!?" he shouts out in a high-pitched mocking voice that makes him sound even crazier than he is.

"Two!" Makarov shouts out again, as he calls upon his magic to cast down his judgment. So much power is being gathered that his pupils can no longer be seen in his eyes. He brings his palms together at an angle, with one over the other and another pale yellow orb of magic appears.

"You expect the number one guild in the country to bow down to _you? _Don't kid yourself! I can fight toe-to-toe with you! No, I won't hold back, so I'm actually more powerful!" José yells out as he calls upon the most powerful spell he knows, ready to destroy the old man in front of him. His purple magic drapes around him like a giant worm.

"Three!" Makarov yells out, enough magic has been gathered and now he only needs to activate the spell.

"You're the one who should beg for mercy! Begone! Disappear with your brats into the ranks of history, Fairy Tail!" José shouts, completely confident in his abilities and certain that since he is willing to kill that he will have the edge and win.

"Time's up!" Makarov cries out.

"Die, Fairy Tail!" José screeches out as he sees his moment of absolute victory. He blasts out his magic with every intention of snuffing out the life in front of him. Makarov slams his hands together as the magical glow around him brightens.

The twin blasts of purple magic almost reach him before they dissipate. José sucks in a shocked breath as the light continues to grow stronger. Something is sapping his magic, his strength, his will. All he can do is stand there as pure white light shoots out from the ground at his feet. Makarov starts floating in the air again as yellow light brighter than the sun can ever be, shines out from everywhere.

"Fairy Law is invoked!" Makarov proclaims at the top of his lungs. His eyes which have closed when he slammed his palms together now open. From them, a magic circle appears and a soft shining light spills out from the heavens to meet the golden glow in an ever more brilliant display. The entirety of the Phantom guildhall is bathed in the soft glow, and any place that the gentle light does not touch is covered by the blindingly bright orb in the middle that's half the size of the guildhall.

From the pale light shining above, another golden glow just as luminescent as the light in the guildhall pours out onto the building below. Just as quickly as it came, the golden light from above recedes and just before it disappears a supernova of light explodes out from the hall.

Everyone on the beach, in the town, and even those who evacuated are blinded by the burst of light. After the initial burst, it dims down but even that is quite bright. It's hard to see anything happening with the giant robot. At first, José's Shades went unnoticed by the mages on the beach as they faded in the light, but not for long.

The longer the Fairy Tail mages look into the light, the more they feel compassion radiating from it. What they were able to feel was the love that Makarov has for each of them.

"It's Fairy Law," Erza explains. She along with Gray, Mirajane, Elfman, and Krysti arrived on the beach just moments before.

"Fairy Law?" Gray asks. He never heard of a spell called that before.

"Righteous light that slays the darkness. It slays only that which the caster believes is the enemy. It's a super-powerful magic, now counted as a legend." she tells him. With a start, she turns to look at Krysti, who is laying on the beach, still unconscious near them. Erza looks down at the older woman in slight awe, thinking that her first showing of magic is reminiscent of the legendary spell being used in front of them right now. A small smile appears on her face as she thinks about how great of a mage her new friend will be.

The other three stare in awe at the sight of Fairy Law and its beautiful glow. Only Mirajane notices the look that Erza is giving the passed out brunette. She stays quiet and plans on asking the red-head about it at another time. As the glow dies down, the sooty dust within the room containing the two Wizard Saints settles as well. There José can be seen standing in the same spot as before Fairy Law was cast. However in that same spot was not the same man.

Arms thrown over his face to protect him from the blinding light, a much paler version of the Phantom Lord guild leader stands there. Besides erratic twitching, he doesn't move an inch. His mouth gapes open in a scream, but the only noise that can be heard is a dry rattle. Everything about him has been muted, colors and even sound. His rich and vibrant clothes look old and faded. The soot and dust settling on him make the clothes look even more run down than they are.

Even his skin and hair have lost their color. His maroon red hair is now completely white, although the soot peppering it gives it a gray tint at a distance. His skin looks like he hasn't seen the sun in years. But one of the biggest changes was his face. As you get closer to José, wrinkles can be seen all over his face, making him look like a very old man now. The look of absolute horror was so etched into his face that you would feel pity for the poor man if you didn't know that just seconds earlier that he was trying to murder an entire guild of people.

Makarov stood there staring harshly all the while, taking in the new visage of José. He knew that something like this was going to happen once he cast the spell, but Makarov had no other choice. It was either cast the spell now that would basically drain the younger man of his vitality, or duke it out which would cause unknown amounts of damages and possibly even casualties.

"Never come near Fairy Tail again," Makarov commands in a very deep but otherwise seemingly calm voice. If you didn't take into account the furious glare he is giving the once young looking guild master. Besides the twitches, José still has not moved one muscle during this. The Master of Fairy Tail turns his back on the Master of Phantom Lord and his face relaxes a slight bit now that he is no longer looking at his now defeated enemy.

"The council will not stay silent after things have gotten so flashy. You should watch out for your own skin for a while. And the same goes for me..." Makarov advises before walking calmly away. Behind the short man, a pair of hands fades into view in an ominous way. Soon after the hands appears the manically grinning face of Aria. Despite his clothes being badly singed, he seems to of recovered from his defeat by Erza. His hands are outstretched, trying to reach Makarov while his back is turned.

"The sadness..." he softly wails to himself. Magic circles form at the end of Aria's hands as he prepares to cast the life draining spell again. He almost wiggles in happiness at the fact the old man is wide open just like the last time he ambushed Makarov. Tears fly out from his eyes just as he thinks that the 2nd defeat of Makarov is literally at hand. Just as the large man in a burnt green coat nears the Fairy Tail guild leader a large blow almost dislocates Aria's jaw.

It happened so fast that Aria was already flying off to the side to crash heavily into a piece of a wall before the Master's arm was visible. It is a testament to his strength that without even looking, he is able to knock down a man at least 10 times his size. Makarov's arm snaps back to its original shape just as Aria crashes into the now completely broken wall.

"It's over! The battle of the guilds is finished." Makarov loudly proclaims so José and Aria can hear him. His voice grows harsher as he threatens them, "But if you try anything more, I'll take you out and leave not a trace..." He then turns to face Aria with a closed-eyed smile on his face which startles the Elemental 4 wizard. Makarov's voice goes up a few octaves and his tone changes from a battle harden warrior to a carefree old man.

"Take José with you and go home! Right now!" Makarov tells Aria gleefully.

As nothing else seems to happen within the giant robot, the Fairy Tail wizards start to rejoice and celebrate their apparent victory over the Phantom Lord mages. Their cries echo so loudly that even the people who evacuated the town for safety were able to hear the resident mages. Makarov's heart swells with pride as he listens to the cheers of his beloved children.

Everyone was exhausted from their battles, each member fighting in their own battles to ensure that their loved ones were safe. The Fairy Tail wizards who decided to stay on the beach to try to protect the guildhall are all jumping and dancing in their joy. However, the four who made it back from Phantom Lord's guildhall are not quite as jubilant. Oh, they were elated in their own right that the war is over, but at the same time, they couldn't express themselves fully. They were still extremely worried over the unconscious brunette laying on the sand beside them.

She is barely breathing and even her hair is burnt, something they found out along their trek out of the enemy guildhall. They might not have noticed if it wasn't for the smell of burnt hair that clung to her strongly. Mira, Elfman, Erza, and Gray all hover nearby Krysti, not quite certain what to do for her yet. As they stand around, each one is full of questions that they want to have answered.

Back at the robot, Lucy and Happy are flying higher to catch sight of their friends and family celebrating on the beach when they hear the cheering. Lucy lets out an almost hysterical laugh just from the relief that it is finally over. Out of all the Fairy Tail wizards, she was the one hurt the most emotionally and is a top contender of being most physically hurt as well. Natsu watches his teammate laughing cheerfully as Happy joyfully flies her around in circles and a content look crosses his features unseen by the other two.

"I knew you could do it, Gramps..." Natsu says to himself, relieved and happy that everything turned out ok. Being able to see that smile on Lucy's face was more than worth the pounding he took. Lucy is a precious friend of his and he wouldn't hesitate for a second to go through all of this again to make sure that she doesn't have to cry anymore.

Makarov climbs up onto one of the robot's shoulders that doubles as a roof to look down on the beach watch his celebrating children. He is quickly noticed and they settle down in case he has something to say.

Projecting his voice, Makarov proudly proclaims, "This victory is not from just my power alone, but a victory made from our whole family." The cheers that rose from his words was deafening.

* * *

Afternoon soon descends upon Magnolia and where there was once chaos and fighting, order and peace follow. The townsfolk who evacuated during the fighting trickle their way back into town. They are relieved that their home is largely untouched despite the harsh battles that both guilds were in. Only the buildings belonging to Fairy Tail and Phantom Lord were affected in the war between guilds.

The only members of Fairy Tail who remained unaffected by the war were the ones who were away on missions. Master Makarov makes sure that everyone tends to their wounds first and foremost as the guild members gathered around their destroyed home. He sent his fastest runners to have Krysti taken to Porlyusica as soon as he sees the condition she is in. He worries that the spell he cast to help his children to regenerate their magic was too little too late for his newest child.

With how much magic the brunette released for the first time it was close to life threatening. Coupled with how serious her injuries were, it was a miracle that she is still alive. The old medical advisor grumbled under her breath, but she took in Krysti when she saw the state the brunette was in, albeit reluctantly. After getting everyone settled, the Master begins talking to everyone who fought to get their side of the story. Loke wandered during this helping bring in a wounded Reedus who ended up with a bad sprain from trying to protect Lucy.

Natsu saunters up with a smug grin on his face, his clothes still wet from the swim he took to get to shore. What's left of his clothes is in worse shape than he is. The same goes for almost everyone else surrounding the now ruined guild hall. The pink-haired dragon slayer listens in to his friends telling what all they know that happened after the Master was ambushed. When Erza tells her part in bringing Krysti along with her to fight, Natsu's head swivels to face her so fast that his neck cracks.

"YOU DID WHAT!?" he shouts in outrage. He runs up to the red-head and he gives her a hard glare. "HOW COULD YOU DO THAT!? SHE WAS ALREADY ALMOST DEAD! SHE CAN"T EVEN CAST MAGIC! SHE..." Natsu was interrupted by the armored woman as she glares at him hard. With her voice raised, it cracks like a whip which echoes in the sudden silence as everyone within hearing range quiets down to watch the confrontation.

"She is a Fairy Tail mage. Her spirit was strong and it wanted to do everything it can to fight to protect the people she loves. Magical ability or not, I have no right in stopping someone that determined to fight. If I didn't take her with me, she would have found some other way to get in." At this point, Natsu looks slightly mollified but still extremely frustrated.

Erza's tone softens as she continues, "That and now we can no longer say that she doesn't have any magical ability. After you left Natsu, José showed up along with Gray, Elfman, and Mira. They were knocked unconscious and it was left up to me to protect them. Krysti showed up during this and I was not strong enough to last long against José. When he caught me in his magic, she came in looking angrier than I have ever seen her. Before I knew it, flames burst out of her and covered José and me."

A small upturn of Erza's lips accompanies a look of respect in her eyes while still telling her side, "When the flames died down did I notice the extent of her outburst. The entire room was blackened, everything burned. Even José was affected some. Yet, to me, her flames were as a gentle summer wind. Not one mark was to be found on Elfman, Gray, Mira, or me as well." The three mentioned shared looks of amazement with each other as they find out why everything was burned like it was while they were passed out.

Lucy cuts in by swiftly saying, "There was a wall of flames that came in where Natsu and Gajeel were fighting! It didn't hurt Happy or me at all, but the Phantom mages in the room with us..." she trails off as she remembers the unmoving bodies and she shudders.

Happy jumps in at this point, "Yea! It came just in time too! Natsu was so low on magic reserves that Gajeel was almost about to win! But then like a wish come true, fire came into the room and was everywhere. Natsu got to eat and win!" The little cat jumps up and down on the ground to show off his excitement. Bisca and Cana came up while Natsu was having a death wish by yelling at _Erza_ of all people.

Cana goes to throw in her two cents, "It wasn't just in those two rooms, there was a point where the entire building was on fire." she informs her friends who were all inside the building at the time.

"Yea, fire burst out of every crack that robot has and covered almost the whole thing like it was armor," Bisca adds. At hearing this from the other two females, the Master and the rest of the wizards who were not outside during the battle let their jaws drop.

"If you don't believe us, take a look at the outside of the building. All those black marks were made by that fire." Cana tells them sassily. Several heads turn to inspect in the outside of the Phantom Lord's guild hall and everyone looking gapes at the sight. Most of the building's light gray stone exterior is covered in black marks. The eyes of Erza, Gray, Mira, Lucy, Happy, Elfman, Makarov and Natsu bulge out comically. Each of them is experiencing a wide range of emotions from awe and wonderment to shock and fear.

Except for Master Makarov, he felt more distressed and horrified. He already has the magic council constantly breathing down his back from the sheer amount of damage his children cause. Now he has another one with more destructive potential than most of them put together. All of Fairy Tail that is present reel back in shock as their Master bursts into tears and cries like a baby for no reason they can think of.

"Ummm, what did we miss?" a sweet voice calls out hesitantly. People turn to see that Levy, Jet, and Droy are standing in front of them, they are still covered in bandages, but otherwise, they look fine.

* * *

Cold. Deep biting cold that worms its way into your bones and refuses to leave. So cold that it is painful. Everything and everywhere is cold and hurts. A warm liquid enters my mouth and I greedily suck it in, hoping that its warmth will drive away the cold. Everything fades.

Cold. Still so cold. Loud voices sound off nearby and I try to work my mouth to ask for something warm. There is still pain, but not as much. The cold not quite as intense. The voices stop. I try to call out again and blessed warmth makes it way to my mouth. I drink it quickly, relishing the warmth as it spreads through me. Everything fades.

The cold isn't in my bones anymore. It centers more in my chest, but I can still feel it. The pain is more of a low ache now instead of a sharp stabbing pain that hit everywhere at once. I struggle to open my eyes and a soft, gruff voice says something nearby. Gentle hands raise up my head and a cup is pressed to my lips. I open my mouth to swallow down the warmth that settles and spreads in my body. Everything fades.

The cold is only in my chest now. Most of the pain is gone. I let out a sigh of relief. It is an odd feeling, but it isn't the first time my chest has been cold like this. Unbidden, memories of times when I would donate blood or plasma came to me. I mentally shake them away as I open my eyes. Darkness greets me which causes me to panic until my eyes adjust and moonlight can be seen streaming in through a window. A dark form shuffles forward with a cup in its hand. The soft yet gruff voice says something to me while holding the cup to my mouth. A hand lifts my head up and I drink down the not as warm liquid. Everything fades.

Warmth. Pleasantly wonderful warmth. Waking up like this is so much better than being cold. I let out a sigh of happiness as I roll over to get more comfortable. A low throbbing ache builds up in my body the more I move. Once I reach my preferred sleeping position of being partway on my stomach and side, I snuggle into my pillow and allow myself to drift off again.

I wake up to the sound of birds chirping and I smile lazily at that. I had a very good dream that is quickly fading. I get the impression that a large man with a mustache is involved, but it soon goes as well. I open my eyes to see a blurry image of a brown room. Using one of my hands, I wipe away the blurriness to see a room that is made of wood. _Where am I? _Not like with planks, but like the room itself is inside a giant tree. Shelves were scattered around the walls which were filled with all sorts of bottles and jars. I look down to see a big circular rug over a stone floor.

I see a small garden full of strange looking plants next to a dresser at one end of the room. _The flowers look pretty. _Looking towards the other end I find a small alcove with more shelves wedged in it. Many different books fill these shelves along with some dishes for decor. The sound of a door opening catches my attention. I sit up in bed to see a pink-haired older woman in a red leather-like cape with teeth along the collar walk in.

"Ah, you're awake now. About time." the woman says grumpily. _I recognize her voice. She was the one who been giving me those warm drinks._ I look down to finger the orange fur blanket that has been covering me.

"Thank..." I clear out my throat when I hear how hoarse it sounds. I try again, "Thank you for taking care of me, ma'am." I say respectfully. I look back up to see that she is looking at me with an annoyed expression. I break off eye contact and stare at the blanket. I feel uneasy. _Did I do something wrong?_

"I'm sorry," I say softly.

"Hmm? What for?" I hear her ask with a note of surprise in her tone.

"I'm getting the feeling that I must have done something to make you upset," I explain, still speaking softly and staring at the blanket. I hear a low growl and I cringe. _Yup, I did something alright. _

"Yes, you did," she replies curtly. I hunch my shoulders at this. "This is why I don't like humans." _Humans?_ "Always risking your fool necks by overdoing it and never thinking about the consequences. It's a miracle that you're even alive after everything you did." _Wait, what?_

"Um, excuse me ma'am, but what do you mean 'after everything I did'? The last thing I can remember is seeing my friend Erza fighting some smarmy looking guy." I keep my tone respectful as I say all of this since clearly, she is some sort of healer. Even though I have no idea who she is. She turns to silently study me with an upraised eyebrow. I try not to squirm under her hard gaze. She then scoffs and moves over to a table with lots of plants and powders and liquids scattered across its surface.

I decide to keep silent as well as it seems that she does not want to answer me. Usually, I would press for answers, but in this instance, I'm assuming that she has been taking care of me and I do not wish to be rude to her. The silence stretches out and I take this time to slowly stretch and move my body to see how hurt I still am. I marvel at how there seems to be barely any aches or twinges of pain at all. _How long have I been out? Better yet, how did I end up here and why am I not in the hospital? _

"Here," she grunts out as a small cup is placed in front of me. Jerking slightly from startlement, I look up to see her annoyed expression before nodding.

"Thank you." I softly say before picking up the cup to drink its contents. A bitter taste explodes in my mouth to which I make a face at. I still swallow it all, for if she wanted to harm me she would have done it while I was unconscious. I hand her the cup back and she snatches it quickly before marching back to the table. My ear starts getting itchy and I go to scratch when I feel something _in_ my ear. Concerned, I dig out what turns out to be my translator. I go to stick it back in when it hits me. I lost it when I was beaten up by that weird brown suit guy.

_ How the hell did this get back in my ear? Is this part of the magic, or did someone find it and bring it back to me?_ The healer woman says something, and I quickly replace my translator.

"I'm sorry, could you please repeat that? I didn't have my translator in." I inform her, still being as respectful as I can. She turns and looks at me with a slightly less annoyed expression.

"Translator?" she asks. I nod and pull it out again to show her. She glances at it and nods.

I place it back in my ear before asking, "Do you know how I got this back? It was missing during the attack by Phantom Lord." Her expression hardens at the name of the guild who attacked us.

"It was brought by one of the noisy brats that have been almost constantly hanging around here. They are apparently very worried about you. I've lost count how many times I had to chase them away just to get some peace and quiet. I hate humans." she grumbles out that last part. I lower my head and smile knowing who she meant by noisy brats. _So they really do care..._

As if my thought was a summons, the door rattles from heavy pounding that is accompanied by rather loud and familiar shouting. _Well, speak of the devil..._ The door bursts open and in pours in some of my friends. They rush to me with their faces gleaming with excitement when they see me awake.

Flashbacks of hospital scenes in movies back in my world race through my mind and my mischievous side takes hold with an overwhelming urge. I school my face to look wide-eyed and confused. As everyone calms down in their greetings and questions I look them each in the eye carefully.

"Who are you?" I ask in a small and confused voice as I settle my gaze onto Natsu's face. I tilt my head slightly to the side for added effect. In unison, all five of their expressions drop and a look of horror crosses their faces. At this, I couldn't help it and threw myself back onto the bed while giggling madly. The sound of Lucy's offended squawk changes my giggling into mad cackling.

"That was horribly mean, Krysti!" I hear Happy say from above me. I open my eyes to see sour expressions on all their faces, although I can see Erza's and Lucy's lips twitching in amusement as well. I try to sober up as I raise myself back to my original sitting position. Laughter is still bubbling out as I try and fail to hold back a shit-eating grin.

"I'm sorry!" I cry out, not feeling sorry at all. "I couldn't help it! It's a common dramatic scene from my world, and it is not like I wake up in a hospital all that often. I saw a chance and I took it. I mean it's not like I'm going to get injured all that much anyways." A weird chill passes through my body at those words and all of my mirth shrivels away. I shiver at the feeling as it leaves me feeling odd. _What the hell was that?!_

"Krysti, what's wrong?" Gray asks with an upraised eyebrow at my actions.

Rubbing my arms which are now covered goose bumps I reply, "I don't know. Just got a weird chill." _Like someone was walking over my grave. I hope this isn't an omen... _Erza steps forward before I think further on the subject and clears her throat to catch my attention.

"Chills and pranks aside, how are you doing, Krysti? You had us worried with how long you been unconscious." the armored female said in a gentler than normal tone.

I look up at her curiously before replying, "Right now I'm feeling fine. What knocked me out, and for how long?" The group shuffles in an awkward manner which shoots a spike of worry through me.

"8 days," Gray says suddenly. I snap my gaze towards him and he has an unreadable look on his face.

My mouth dries as I ask, "What?"

Lucy pipes up as she steps closer, "He said 8 days, Krysti. That's how long you were out." I feel numb at her words.

"What happened?" I ask barely above a whisper.

"What happened is that you released so much magic while you were heavily injured that you nearly died!" the healer's voice gruffly rings out. I shrink back in fear as she continues ranting on while my friends turn to face her fearfully.

* * *

After the healer's outburst, who Krysti later found out was called Porlyusica, the story came out briefly. Krysti wasn't shocked to find out that her magic manifested itself into flames. The clues were all there. What shocked her was the extent of the flames. Everything everyone has told her about what to expect for a first manifestation indicated that she would have something small and weak happen. Like a small spark of flame or even just something just growing very warm. Nothing like the conflagration that she apparently caused.

As soon as her friends finished explaining what she did before passing out, Porlyusica interrupted immediately to tell them that the brunette isn't allowed to even attempt to try to do anything magical for two weeks since her stunt strained her body badly. A broom magically appeared in the pink-haired woman's hand as an angry look appears on her face. She chases everyone, including her patient, out of her house all the while spouting how she hates humans.

Looking scared for their lives, the Fairy Tail members who dealt with the old healer before rushes out in a stampede. Even Erza knows better than to cross Porlyusica. Lucy is left behind with Krysti as both females never dealt with the healer before. Yet, with the expression on Porlyusica's face neither one of them wanted to deal with her anger as well. Lucy helps Krysti up and out of the house as the brunette's body isn't fully recovered and can't support her weight as of yet.

They stumble around but eventually make it out of the house and away from the angry healer brandishing a broom. The others who were waiting across the clearing rush over to help Lucy with Krysti once the two girls are far enough away from Porlyusica's house that they won't inflame the woman's wrath. Erza, being the bravest of the four, was the first to move and reach the other two. She was also the first to notice the blush on the brunette's face.

"What's wrong, Krysti? You're blushing," she asks. Krysti presses her lips together to make a tight line and just looks down. Not getting her message at first, it takes the girls a few seconds before they too look down and then they understood. She is still wearing Elfman's shirt and it barely covers her hips as Krysti stands there being supported by Lucy. Eyes wide, Erza summons her magic to make a large blanket appear in the air and the two girls hurriedly wrap up the larger woman before the boys figure out what is going on. She mumbles out a quiet thank you as her blush dies down.

THUMP!

"AHH-OWW!" Krysti suddenly screams while clutching the back of her head. Almost as one, the group turns and looks down to see a glass bottle with blue liquid swirling around in it on the ground by Krysti's feet.

"Drink one swallow of that once a day until it's all gone! And none of you better not pull any more stupid stunts that I have to fix you up afterward! Now GET OUT!" screams out the healer with broom still in hand. Happy quickly grabs the bottle and flies out of the clearing and is soon followed by the rest of the group; albeit slower since they were mindful to keep pace with their not fully recovered friend.

In their dash to get away, the blanket covering the brunette's modesty kept getting snagged on brambles and branches and almost getting ripped out of her grip. When she does finally lose the blanket, she lets out a small shriek in surprise. Krysti falls as she tries to turn quickly to retrieve the blanket and loses her balance as her legs are still wobbly.

"Can we slow down now please?" Krysti whines out from her position on the ground with the shirt riding up over her hips. Erza quickly retrieves the fallen blanket to cover up the scantily clad woman before the boys see something they shouldn't. Lucy steps in between the two males as they are turning around to look back to try to block their view.

"The old hag doesn't go far from her house so we are safe now," Natsu replies nonchalantly as he tries to peer curiously around Lucy to see what she is trying to hide. Lucy raises up an arm to block, and Natsu bends to look under her arm to which she moves accordingly. Gray, now curious as well, goes to look around Lucy's other side to which she uses her other arm to block. Soon both her arms are flailing wildly as she is determined to help keep Krysti's modesty if it's the last thing she does.

"Pffft. Lucy looks really funny!" chortles out Happy in obvious glee. Erza's lips twitch in amusement and Krysti struggles to stifle a giggle. Happy is right, Lucy does look funny as she is leaning all over the place while waving her hands wildly through the air. It doesn't help that Gray and Natsu are also leaning every which a way to look behind the blonde. The three of them look like they are doing some kind of weird dance and Krysti has a hard time not outright laughing at the realization.

Safely bundled up again, Krysti clears her throat before calling out, "You can stop now Lucy, it's safe now." At the sound of Lucy's loud sigh of relief, Krysti can't help but giggle. The boys look disappointed that they missed what all the fuss was about.

"No fair!" Natsu whines out. "What was the big deal that we weren't even allowed to see?" Krysti's mischievous smile made an appearance and she sauntered the best she could on unsteady legs towards Natsu. He looks at her curiously, not noticing the smirk.

"No big deal," she replies easily. "After all, it's not like it was something you haven't seen before." She moves further away from the healer's house with the sounds of strangled gasps, indignant squawks, and noises of confusion sounding off behind her. Unseen by her friends as they struggle to process the implications of the brunette's words, a huge smile of content settles on her face at the chaos she caused.

* * *

**A/N: I know, this chapter is a lot shorter than my usual chapters. It just seemed right to end it right there. Thank you for being patient with my long updates. Family life and sickness has been real distracting and time comsuming.**


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